DRUG TEST FOR HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS SET

The drug testing for high school students will be conducted earlier than
the original schedule of March, Education Secretary Jesli Lapus said
Wednesday.

Lapus issued the statement pursuant to President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo's
directive that students not only in the secondary level but as well as
college or the tertiary level should undergo drug testing.

The President ordered the mandatory drug testing among the students after
naming herself last Tuesday as the country's anti-drug czar amid raging
controversy regarding the so-called "Alabang Boys" drug case.

Three young drug suspects - Richard Brodett, Joseph Jordana Joseph, and
Joseph Tecson - were arrested by operatives of the Philippine Drug
Enforcement Agency (PDEA) in two separate buy bust operations in Cubao,
Quezon City and in Alabang, Muntinlupa in September last year.

The suspects' families allegedly offered bribes to Department of Justice
(DOJ) prosecutors to ensure their release, PDEA said.

According to Lapus, not all students will be subjected to the drug
testing, but on a random basis all secondary schools across the country
are mandated to comply with the President's directive.

He said students found positive of drug use during the random drug testing
will have to undergo another round of drug testing for confirmation as
well as to determine the level of drug dependency or addiction.

The random drug testing will be conducted by the Department of Health
(DOH) accredited laboratory.

Lapus clarified that the drug testing will not be a ground for expulsion
and the DOH is expected to provide counseling to help student "kick off"
the addiction.

"Our intention is not to humiliate the students. We are very strict about
confidentiality," he said.

He also stressed that the random drug testing in school is not new and in
fact provided under Republic Act 9165 or the Dangerous Drug Act.

The Department of Education (DepEd) actually conducted a random drug
testing in 2003 to 2005 after study showed that drug use in six regions of
the country, including the National Capital Region (NCR), increased by 10
percent.

"As a matter of fact we have been conducting random tests since 2003, but
we only choose 17 schools per region then we choose students there
randomly. The new directive of the President is to include all high
schools," Lapus said.

During the last testing, 1.3 percent of students tested were found
positive of drug use in the initial tests, but only 0.8 percent tested
positive in the confirmation testing.

In 2004, DepEd, through its Health and Nutrition Center, also conducted
drug testing of high school students in 17 randomly selected schools in
each region to determine the prevalence of drug users among students.

Likewise, during the previous drug testing, only 30 students per school or
a total of 9,000 students were subjected to the test. (AH/Sunnex)