Monday, November 12, 2007 SC orders drug testing of arrested minors
THE Supreme Court (SC) is getting tough on minors who use drugs.
According to an administrative order that took effect last Nov. 5, the High Tribunal wants mandatory drug screening of all children above 15 but below 18 years old who get charged before the prosecutor’s office for any crime with a penalty lasting up to six years.
If the results show drug use, the child, through the parents, has 15 days to contest it though a drug test of their own, or else the child gets charged with violating Republic Act 9165, the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act.
But in ordering mandatory drug tests, the High Court wants treatment, rather than prosecution and penalty.
The child who tests positive won’t the prosecuted if he, upon application with the Dangerous Drugs Board, qualifies and gets voluntarily enrolled in an accredited chemical dependency rehabilitation facility and finishes the treatment.
Protection
Age, however, does not ensure a get-out-of-jail-free card.
According to the rules, a child who does not finish the treatment or, worse, gets charged with a similar offense in the future voids protection, even if he or she is still legally a minor at the time the second offense is committed.
“A child drug dependent under the voluntary submission program who is not rehabilitated after a second commitment to the center or a Department of Health-accredited physician under the voluntary submission program shall be charged and prosecuted, upon recommendation of the board, with violation of Section 15 of the act,” the rules state.
This time, the prosecution can end with an actual jail term, albeit one which may be substituted with community service.
“The court, upon its discretion, may order that the child be placed on probation and that he/she undergo community service in lieu of imprisonment and/or fine, without prejudice to the outcome of any pending case filed in court,” the rules provide.
Juvenile
According to the High Tribunal, the rules take into account provisions of the Rule on Juveniles in Conflict with the Law, the Rule on the Examination of a Child Witness, and the Juvenile Justice and Welfare Act of 2006.
These rules aim to ensure that the rights of children charged with violating the Dangerous Drugs Act are well-protected, and that their “interests and those of their family and the community are equally balanced.”
“It is the policy of the State to safeguard the integrity of its territory and the well-being of its citizenry, particularly children, from the harmful effects of dangerous drugs on their physical and mental well-being and to defend them against acts or omissions detrimental to their development and preservation,” the High Court said. (KNR)
