News about proliferation of illegal drugs in the country is very alarming. Even though the government is vocal and serious about war on drugs, it seems getting harder and harder to combat, especially now that the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency admitted that four international drug syndicates are operating in the country.
As a mother, what disturbs me the most are minors/students being arrested by authorities who sell marijuana or even party drugs in school. Did you heard about high school students who were caught in possession/or using marijuana? How about the arrest of two college students from a prestigious school because of selling party drugs and even shabu?
These circumstances are more than a wake up call that we MUST ACT and HELP the AUTHORITIES to PROTECT the youth and PREVENT the escalation of drug use in minors.
How can we help as parents?
Having a positive parent and children relationship is important because the relationship lays the foundation for the child’s personality, choices, and overall behavior. Parents must teach the children at home about the negative effects of using illegal drugs or substance use. Let us always check on our kids and know who their friends are. And most importantly, we must be a good example to our kids.
How can the school and authorities help?
Teaching the students about the ill effects of taking illegal drugs is one way to educate the youth. I heard that President Rodrigo Duterte already gave the go-signal for the implementation of Preventive Drug Education program. The Department of Health, Dangerous Drugs Board and Department of Education are working on this curriculum for kinder to Grade 12 students.
About school security, I believe NCRPO Dir. Guillermo Eleazar has a very good point when he recommended about performing random bag or locker inspection in schools. He said in one of the interviews, “Even on the actual implementation, itong mga sinasabi nating surprise inspection, hindi kasama ang mga pulis doon. It could just be the teachers with the PTA officers.”
I hope DepEd, CHED and PNP will come to an agreement about the bag or locker inspection. I do not think it will do harm to our students since it will be teachers/PTA officers who will do the inspection. Besides, we all undergo bag inspections when we visit the malls, enter train stations or airports, and even in government or private offices. For me it’s not suspecting our children, but helping them to get away with drugs as early as possible.
I believe it’s time for us to unite against illegal drugs. Just my two cents.
Drug addiction should not be taken lightly all the precautions/procedures in this article should be implemented right away.
Just a few days ago, a Grade 12 student in Cebu City was caught selling shabu. A total of P6-M worth of illegal drugs was seized in his possession. The issue about drugs in our country, most specially in schools is really disturbing and I’m in favor that schools should act to prevent drug selling in their premises.
In America, teachers and school administrators can search without either permission or a warrant. Even so, students still have rights.