Chiz: Objective of PDEA’s proposal to test Grade 4 kids for drugs must be clear

The Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency's (PDEA) objective in wanting to conduct mandatory drug tests on Grade 4 students and above must be clear, Senator Francis Escudero said on Sunday.

"Una sa lahat ano bang objective ng drug test? Gusto ba nilang malaman kung may gumagamit? Gusto ba nilang manghuli? Magkaiba ang resulta o kalalabasan, magkaiba din ang realidad non," Escudero said in an interview on Super Radyo dzBB.

"Kung objective nila para malaman kung sino ang tulak, hindi 'yata 'yun ang tamang paraan. Kung ang objective naman nila ay makahuli, eh baka may nilalabag na silang karapatang-pantao," he added.

Escudero stressed that the government should instead focus on curbing the supply of illegal drugs in the country.

"Ang malungkot dito magdadalawang taon na ang administrasyong ito at ang pangunahin sa kampanya ng administrasyong ito ay kampanya laban sa droga. Tila imbes na umaakyat tayo sa pro tempore ng drug lord, eh tila pababa tayo ng pababa sa bata," Escudero said.

"Alam niyo hangga't hindi natin nasasawata ang supply, ang pinanggagalingan eh mauubos na lang ng mauubos 'yung gusto nilang hulihin eh hindi pa rin nila mauubos 'yung droga sa bansa," the senator added.

The anti-narcotics agency proposed conducting mandatory drug tests on schoolchildren ages 10 years old and above after a Grade 4 student was nabbed for allegedly using illegal drugs.

The Department of Education (DepEd), for its part, maintained that drug testing may only be administered among high school students.

It also expressed other concerns such as the students' right to privacy and the logistical and procedural challenges of such a measure. — Anna Felicia Bajo/BM, GMA News