MALACAÑANG on Monday, June 25, agreed with Education Secretary Leonor Briones that grade school students could not be subjected to mandatory drug tests under the law.
"The Palace will defer to the position of the DepEd (Department of Education). Nag-salita na po si Secretary Briones. Ang Dangerous Drugs Act daw po ay ipinagbabawal ang drug testing sa elementarya. Pipwede lang tayong magka-drug testing sa high school," Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque Jr. said in a press conference in Cagayan de Oro City.
(The Palace will defer to the position of the DepEd. Secretary Briones has already spoken. The Dangerous Drugs Act prohibits the drug testing in elementary school. We are only allowed to conduct drug testing in high school.)
"We concur with Secretary Briones that Dangerous Drugs Act limits possible drug testing to high school and not to grade school students," he added.
The Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) earlier proposed mandatory drug tests on students aged 10 and up after a 10-year-old pupil allegedly involved in illegal drugs was rescued by authorities.
In a statement on June 21, the DepEd said the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002, or Republic Act 9165, needs to be amended first before the PDEA can proceed with its plan.
"The proposal of the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency to test all students aged 10 and older may require the amendment of the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002," it said.
Briones, in a radio interview on Sunday, June 24, said the law authorizes drug testing only for the secondary and tertiary levels.
She also stressed that it would be a "nightmare" for students aged 10 and above to undergo mandatory drug testing.
Last year, the DepEd initiated a drug-testing program that covered 1,300 of its officers and personnel at the central office; 3,800 in the regional offices; 26,000 in school division offices; and a sample population of 10,000 teachers and 21,000 secondary students. (SunStar Philippines)