Philippines’ bishops support mandatory drug testing for students

The Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines announced its agreement with the proposal of the country’s drug enforcement agency to mandate random drug testing for all students aged at least ten.

Bishop Roberto Mallari of San Jose, chairperson of the Filipino bishops’ Commission on Catechesis and Catholic Education, expressed support for the proposal. He noted that teenagers and prepubescent children exhibit a high level of curiosity, which could lead them to experiment with illegal drugs. He also stated that the increased availability of drug-laced candy was a factor in influencing them to try using drugs.

Aaron Aquino, head of the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency, announced the proposal last week to randomly test young students for drug use after several 10-year-olds were arrested for illegal drug use.

The proposed random drug tests are part of the country’s continuing effort to stop the use of illegal drugs, which was one of the major campaign issues for President Rodrigo Duterte. But, Harry Roque Jr., a spokesperson for President Duterte, said the president opposes random drug testing for grade-school students and thought that testing should be limited to high-school students.

Since taking office two years ago, the president has instituted a crackdown on illegal drug use. Official government reports show that more than 4,000 people have been killed and more than 124,000 arrested during police operations to disrupt drug trafficking.

The country’s bishops are on record as opposing the violence associated with enforcing the country’s drug laws.