House body to review drug testing on students

MANILA, Philippines - The House committee on dangerous drugs is mulling a review of the Palace directive to subject students to random drug testing. In a briefing, committee chairman and Ilocos Norte Rep. Roque R. Ablan, Jr. said the order "leaves a lot of complications and confusions when it comes to implementation." Parañaque Rep. Roilo S. Golez (2nd district) said requiring students to undergo random drug test raises a possible violation of the right against incrimination. "Also, who will decide as to the selection of students who will undergo drug testing? Any agency or even the school administration who were appointed to do so could be subjected to a question of politics," he said in the same event. Mr. Golez also raised the issue of whether the funding would be shouldered by the government, school administration or the student themselves, while the penalty for the student found positive of drug use is also unclear. President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo Wednesday said she will personally lead the campaign against the illegal drug trade. Dangerous Drugs Board Chairman Vicente C. Sotto III had recommended measures to Mrs. Arroyo to help prevent the spread of illegal drugs, especially among the youth, and most were approved by the President. Among the recommendations is the random drug testing in schools. Room for failure In Tacloban City, Senator Francis Joseph G. Escudero doubted Mrs. Arroyo’s campaign to win the war against illegal drugs. He cautioned that the President would lose the public’s trust if she fails. With Mrs. Arroyo as overseer in the fight against illegal drugs, Mr. Escudero said the concerned agencies’ efforts would be limited. "All will just wait for her orders. She’s not a wonder woman that she can do everything," Mr. Escudero added. Mr. Escudero, who filed a Senate probe on alleged bribery in a controversial drug buy-bust case, said the President should have replaced officials suspected of receiving bribes instead of taking over the reins of the anti-illegal drugs campaign. Unconstitutional At the Justice department, Secretary Raul M. Gonzalez said Major Ferdinand Marcelino’s operations at the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) should be questioned, as his stay in a civilian group while on active duty is unconstitutional. In a press conference, Mr. Gonzalez said this could even make his past actions in PDEA, including the arrest of the so-called Alabang Boys, void "unless it was a de facto act." Under the Constitution, Mr. Gonzalez said no member of the Armed Forces of the Philippines in active service should be designated to any civilian position within government offices. Mr. Marcelino, as chief of the agency’s Special Enforcement Service, testified during a congressional inquiry that money changed hands within the Department of Justice (DoJ) for the release of the three suspects. The case against Richard Santos Brodett, Joseph Ramirez Tecson and Jorge Jordan Joseph, known as the Alabang Boys, was dismissed by prosecutors on Dec. 2 for lack of probable cause. The panel that reviewed the case, state prosecutors John Resado, Philip Kimpo and Misael Ladaga, have denied the claims. The three officials, Chief State Prosecutor Jovencito Zuño who upheld the findings, and Justice Undersecretary Ricardo Blancaflor who supposedly called up PDEA to inquire about the three suspects’ continued detention, are now on forced leave. The DoJ and PDEA have since been at odds over the case. Drug testing in BPOs In a related development, the Philippine National Police (PNP) is mulling random drug testing in call centers and other business process outsourcing (BPO) companies. "This would require thorough coordination between the PNP and the management of these BPO companies. We need to get their cooperation first," PNP spokesman Chief Superintendent Nicanor A. Bartolome said Wednesday. He said based on their studies, call center agents "are prone to smoking, drinking and use of illegal drugs." Oscar Sañez president of the Business Processing Association of the Philippines welcomed the plan, but said each company should be approached on an individual basis. "They [PNP] have to do individual coordination, because each company has its own health policies and programs," he said in an interview. He said BPO companies require applicants to undergo drug tests and other medical examination prior to employment. Mr. Sañez said that since last year, BPO companies were also required by the Labor department to implement health and wellness programs such as physical fitness, medical checkups and healthy lifestyle seminars. — Alexis Douglas B. Romero, Sarwell Q. Meniano, Ira P. Pedrasa and Elizabeth T. Marcelo, BusinessWorld