Random drug test on students will push through as scheduled on Feb. 2, and it will cover 85,000 high school and college students from public and private schools in Metro Manila, Davao and Cebu, the Health Department said yesterday.

The drug test will run until October this year despite the objection posed by the Commission on Human Rights, said Thelma Santos, assistant secretary for special projects at the Health Department.

President Arroyo and Health Secretary Francisco Duque III approved the drug tests following findings that drug abuse among the youth is on the rise, Santos said.

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