MORE than half of Filipinos agree with a proposal of the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) to conduct mandatory drug testing for pupils Grade 4 and above, a survey by the Social Weather Stations (SWS) said.
The SWS survey found that 36 percent disagreed with the proposal, while the remaining 13 percent were undecided.
This equates to a net agreement of +15, which is equivalent to “moderately strong.”
Sixty-nine percent of Visayans agreed with the proposal, while 21 percent disagreed, for a net agreement of “very strong” +47 (correctly rounded.)
The net figure in the Mindanao region was found to be “moderately strong” at +25 after the survey said 51 percent of Mindanaoans agreed with the proposal and 26 percent answered in the negative.
Fifty-three percent of Filipinos in Metro Manila also agreed with the proposal, with 36 percent opposing it, for a net rating of “moderately strong” +17.
But majority of those in Balance Luzon disagreed with the proposal after 48 percent voiced opposition while only 42 percent agreed, for a net rating of “neutral” at -6.
Malacañang on Thursday voiced support to the mandatory drug testing among Grade 4 pupils calling it a “good idea.”
In a news briefing, Palace spokesman Salvador Panelo said the proposal is “for the benefit of Filipino families” and that all parents will welcome it.
Panelo said that as a parent, he would support it.
The Palace spokesman, also the President’s top legal adviser, said the mandatory drug testing does not violate any law.
He added that the basis of the proposal is the drug menace in the country, as well as the parens patriae (“parent of the nation”) doctrine.
Panelo’s statement is a 180 degree turn from the statement of his predecessor, Harry Roque Jr., who called the proposal “illegal.”
Roque, in a news briefing in June, said the Palace agreed with Education Secretary Leonor Briones when she said that the anti-drug law only authorizes random drug testing for high school and college students.
Meanwhile, for the seventh consecutive quarter, more than 70 percent of Filipinos voiced satisfaction with the Duterte administration’s anti-illegal drug campaign, another survey by the SWS found.