HEALTH SETS RANDOM DRUG TEST, IGNORES RIGHTS PANEL

Random drug test on students will push through as scheduled on Feb.
2, and it will cover 85,000 high school and college students from
public and private schools in Metro Manila, Davao and Cebu, the
Health Department said yesterday.

The drug test will run until October this year despite the objection
posed by the Commission on Human Rights, said Thelma Santos,
assistant secretary for special projects at the Health Department.

President Arroyo and Health Secretary Francisco Duque III approved
the drug tests following findings that drug abuse among the youth is
on the rise, Santos said.

Test guidelines will be patterned after those that governed the 2005
drug tests, until the Dangerous Drugs Board, Education Department,
the Commission on Higher Education and the Technical Skills
Development Authority have come up with the new implementing rules
and regulations, Santos said.

The 2005 drug tests conducted by the Education Department covered
only 30 students in each of the 17 schools in different regions,
Santos said.

"While the new random drug test would only subject a small 4 percent
of the country's six to seven million secondary and tertiary
students," Santos said, "it could at least show where the abuse of
illegal drugs is prevalent."

Once the extent of the use of illegal drugs is established in a
particular region, Santos said there will be intervention programs to
curb the problem.

The national drug education program and counseling will be boosted in
the problem areas, according to the Health official.

Parents of students who will be randomly chosen will be properly
informed before the conduct of the drug test.

An "electronic formula" prepared by the Education Department would be
used in choosing subjects with the aid of computers, Santos said.

The National Bureau of Investigation and the East Avenue Medical
Center in Quezon City both have the machines required to test urine
samples from the subject-students.

For the confirmatory testing, the government will spend P100 for each
drug test kit. Each kit will come complete with chemical solutions,
specimen bottles, medical adhesive tapes and other materials needed
throughout the drug testing.

Human Rights Commission Chairman Leila de Lima asked the Education
Department to defer the drug test, saying she will bring the issue to
the Supreme Court to ensure the human rights of students are not violated.

The Dangerous Drugs Board has ensured the confidentiality of the drug
testing and that human rights of the selected students would not be
violated.

The random drug testing comes in two stages: an initial drug test and
a second "confirmatory" test. During the first stage, the government
will spend P25 to P30 for each student in examining their urine
samples. Those who would test positive for illegal drugs would
undergo the "confirmatory" stage, wherein their urine samples would
be brought to Manila for further testing.

Education Secretary Jesli Lapus said his department would add more
schools to the list of those covered by the random drug test.

The expanded coverage is in response to the suggestion of Health
officials to update the list of drugs that are commonly abused.

The new tests would show if students have been using not only shabu
and marijuana but also other prohibited drugs such as cocaine,
ecstasy and barbiturates.