MALACAÑANG on Thursday, November 8, said the proposal to conduct drug tests on grade school students aged 10 above is a "good idea."
"I think that's a good idea because at least the parents will know whether or not their children are addicted or being used in the drug industry," Presidential Spokesperson Salvador Panelo said.
"As a parent, I will want it because we will never know [if] our children in schools would be influenced or used by persons outside of our family," he added.
Panelo's made the remarks after the Social Weather Stations (SWS) released the results of its September 15 to 23 survey, which showed that half, or 51 percent, of Filipinos supported the proposal of the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) to conduct mandatory drug testing on students in Grade 4 and higher levels.
The SWS noted that only 36 percent disagreed with the proposal while 13 percent were undecided, yielding a net agreement score of +15, which the SWS classifies as "moderately strong."
In June, the PDEA recommended mandatory drug testing for teachers and elementary pupils.
The Department of Education (DepEd), Commission on Higher Education (Ched), and other agencies rejected the proposal.
The strong opposition prompted the PDEA in July to drop its plan to subject grade schoolers to mandatory drug testing.
Under Republic Act 9165 or the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act, random drug testing is only mandated for secondary and tertiary level students.
Asked if the possible drug testing for grade school students violates the law, Panelo said: "I don't think there is (a violation). As I said, I don't think a parent will disagree or oppose such an idea."
He added that the drug menace in the country would be sufficient ground for the conduct of drug testing among elementary students.
"There is a drug menace in this country. That will be the basis. Parens patriae (Parent of the nation) doctrine is another. The state is responsible for the safety of the citizens in a country," Panelo said.
Ending the rampant narcotics trade in the country was among President Rodrigo Duterte's campaign promises.
To date, the Duterte administration's brutal crackdown on illegal drugs has remained relentless.
The SWS found that 76 percent were satisfied with Duterte's drug war, while only 12 percent were dissatisfied. This registered a "very good" +65 net satisfaction score.
The SWS noted that the net satisfaction rating for the government's anti-narcotics campaign increased in Balance Luzon ("very good" +66 from June's "very good" +58) and the Visayas ("very good" +58 from June's "very good" +57), but declined in Mindanao ("excellent" +70 from June's "excellent" +84) and Metro Manila ("very good" +55 from June's "very good" +67).
Panelo said public support for Duterte's anti-narcotics campaign was expected because "majority of the Filipinos support his drive against drugs and criminality, as well as corruption."
The SWS interviewed 1,500 adult respondents, using sampling error margins of ±3 percentage points for national percentages, and ±6 percentage points each for Metro Manila, Balance Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao. (SunStar Philippines)