THE proposal to subject school children to random drug testing and frisking has been assailed by two legislators but hailed by another one.
Opposition congressmen Tom Villarin of Akbayan and Gary Alejano of Magdalo Party-list said the bill of Kabayan Party-list Rep. Ron Salo opened children to abuse.
“While security measures in school premises include conducting searches upon entering are permissible, random inspection of personal belongings of students while already inside the school is a violation of privacy and subject to abuse especially that they are minors enrolled in elementary school,” Villarin said Saturday.
He said random drug testing covered under the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act must adhere to strict parameters of due process, objective sampling, strict confidentiality of results, health-based interventions rather than punitive or criminal; and should not be a law and order approach.
Villarin’s statement came amid talks between the National Police and the Department of Education to allow for random inspection of school bags and other personal belongings for elementary students.
He said a random drug testing should be done by the Department of Health in coordination with the Department of Education and not the national police.
Alejano also assailed the ‘reported’ plan of the National Police with the DepEd to subject elementary students in public schools to random frisking and their belongings.
Alejano said “it is too extreme to have inspections of personal belongings of students and drug testing.”
“Campuses are supposed to be spaces of freedom and demilitarization. Schools are responsible for their students’ safety and well being while inside the school,” Alejano said.
“Police or uniform presence will only scare off truants who might have more hope in life while in school.”
Instead of committing those abuses, Alejano said the Commission on Higher Education and the DepEd must intensify their efforts to keep campuses free from drugs without necessarily advocating checkpoints and police tactics.
Meanwhile, Surigao del Norte Rep. Robert Ace Barbers, chairman of the House committee on drugs, hailed both plans, saying the youth were vulnerable to drugs and “the inveiglement of criminal elements.”
“Yes I support that. The youth is (sic) the most vulnerable sector so we should start our campaign to protect the youth and check and rehabilitate those that have been already victimized by this drug menace,” Barbers said.
Earlier, Salo said that while the random drug testing of students and teachers at elementary schools were already being done, it should be replicated in state colleges and universities.
Salo clarified he was for random drug testing and not for random inspection.
“Random drug testing was already upheld as constitutional by the Supreme Court,” he said.