By Phoebe Salvador
Eagle News Service
Senator Francis “Kiko” Pangilinan urged the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) to shelve the proposed mandatory drug test for elementary students age 10 and older, as he noted that there is no law that authorizes such an action.
In a statement on Monday, June 25, Pangilinan described the proposal as a “slapdash and panicky plan trained on little children.”
“This proposal is an admission that the brutal government war on drugs is ineffective,” he said, adding that PDEA should instead go after the big drug lords to stop the flow of illegal drugs.
Pangilinan supported the Department of Education (DepEd)’s earlier statement that such move would violate Republic Act 9165 or the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002, which authorizes drug testing for secondary and tertiary students only.
“A law is needed to implement the government’s proposed mandatory drug test for children as young as 10 years old or those in Grade 4,” he pointed out.
Regarding the cost, meanwhile, he said the proposal would be another source of corruption.
“Given a population of at least 14 million students from Grade 4 to Grade 12 alone, the testing fee could amount to P2.8 billion. Who will earn from this expensive program?” he said citing DepEd’s statement.
Pangilinan suggested that such amount be used to fund Deped’s facilities and other programs so that children will not be swayed to use illegal drugs.
“The budget could get them textbooks or schools supplies, or even build additional classrooms,” he said.
“It could also help fund the additional salary public school teachers have been demanding for a long time,” he added. Meanne Corvera
