CHR: Child's rights must be protected in drug test

Clear guidelines should be in place and the protection of the rights of the children should be ensured if the government pursues the mandatory drug test for Grade 4 students and up, the Commission on Human Rights (CHR) said.

"There should be sufficient guidelines should this initiative push through, which prohibits the school or agencies from imposing sanctions—administrative or criminal—found to be a user or dependent, and will not, in any way, affect the children’s access to their right to education," CHR spokesperson Jacqueline de Guia said in a statement.

De Guia said the government must adhere to the Convention on the Rights of the Child, which the Philippines ratified, and other laws on the well-being of children.

"The Commission on Human Rights reminds the government of its obligation to always put premium to the welfare and rights of the children, in line with the spirit of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, which the Philippines ratified, and other domestic laws passed to this effect," she said.

A third quarter survey of the Social Weather Stations showed that at least 51 percent of Filipinos agreed with the proposal of the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency to conduct mandatory drug testing for students. 

However, De Guia noted 49 percent of Filipinos disapprove of the planned mandatory drug test. — Joseph Tristan Roxas/ LDF, GMA News