In response to allegations of non-compliance, the spokesperson for Palawan State University clarified that the CNMK Drug Testing Center, though not under a formal agreement with the university, is accredited by the Department of Health (DOH).
Public Information Officer Claire Mendoza of the university stated that serving both Puerto Princesa City and Palawan province, the controversial testing center routinely submits drug test results to the main campus clinic and other university campuses, in alignment with standard protocols followed by all DOH-accredited facilities.
She made this clarification in connection with Palawan State University’s (PalawanSU) adherence to the Commission on Higher Education’s (CHED) Memorandum Order (CMO) 18, Series of 2018, which mandates that all students in Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) undergo mandatory random drug testing as part of the school’s admission and retention policies.
Mendoza explained that the university does not endorse any specific drug testing center, as the requirement of CHED MO 18, S. 2018 is only that the centers be duly accredited by the DOH. This allows students the freedom to choose any accredited center.
Drug testing centers, she said, have the option to forward the results directly to PalawanSU’s main clinic and to the respective campuses, or to release them directly to the student or the parents.
The university’s 17 external campuses, with some located in island municipalities like Linapacan and Balabac, face limited choices in drug testing centers. This can prove expensive or difficult for students in meeting this requirement.
This is why, Mendoza noted, the Office of Student Affairs and Services (OSAS) was surprised that only CNMK took the initiative to visit the external campuses on their own.
“Actually, itong second semester kahit ang opisina ng OSAS, nagtaka din na bakit walang ibang drug testing clinics ang lumapit sa kanila, para magsabi na sila ay magko-conduct o pupunta sa mga external campuses para mag-conduct ng drug test. Si CNMK lang talaga ang masigasig, talagang nagtanong sila ‘Ma’am, Sir, kailan po yung enrolment?’ and ‘Then we will conduct this one po,’” Mendoza said.
“Again, lilinawin ko lang ulit, walang kinontrata, or inendorso na particular drug testing center ang PalawanSU. Mayroon free will ang mga estudyante para pumili ng mas mababang rate para sa drug test,” she added.
She also clarified that CNMK did have the proper certification to operate drug tests inside the external campuses and secured them from the main office, and, like all other drug testing centers, forwarded them to the PalawanSU clinic, and to the respective campuses.
“Ganoon din doon sa Brooke’s Point Campus, to be fair sa university, December 11 ay forwarded na sa [Brooke’s Point Campus Clinic] yung results ng drug testing na ginawa nung first sem, naandun na. Yung bata siguro may possibility lang na di siya bumalik doon para kunin, or i-check yung result niya. Kasi isa doon sa iko-consider mo, hindi pwedeng kung sino-sino lang ang kukuha niyan it’s either the child, or his/her parent lang ang pwedeng kumuha,” Mendoza said.
She emphasized that the university is also investigating allegations from some students who paid for the drug test but were not asked to provide a sample for testing.
As the second semester is already underway and the drug test results will take time to be completed, Mendoza stated that enrollees could present a copy of the drug test receipt in lieu of the actual printed results.
Mendoza noted that a positive drug test does not immediately mean that a student will be barred from admission. A student may be denied admission by PalawanSU for valid reasons other than a positive drug test result.
“Isa sa mga issues, kung ganoon na resibo lang, bakit natin papayagan, baka mamaya positive sila. Pero nakalagay din doon sa CHED MO 18 na hindi natin siya pipigilan, o hindi ia-admit mag-enroll unless na magkakaroon ng reason ang school na i-dismiss, or hindi tanggapin ang application for enrollment niya. May mga institutional intervention diyan, mga program na binigay din si DOH para matulungan din yung bata, at hindi natin siya basta ire-refuse na tanggapin as our student, at eto ay malinaw din na nakasaad, particular sa Rule VI, Section 15 of CHED MO 18a,” she said.
Previously, there was controversy over the mandatory drug testing mandated by CHEd, following accusations that CNMK failed to perform actual drug tests during its visit to PalawanSU’s external campus in Brooke’s Point.
Allegedly, by the end of the semester, the students at the external campus had not received any test results.
