Santa Fe Municipal government: 5 found positive in drug screening

CEBU, Philippines - Five employees of the municipality of Santa Fe in Bantayan Island were found positive for drug use during a random test yesterday.

One of them has a permanent employment status while the others were hired under job order arrangement. Another male employee admitted to have been using illegal drugs.        

Joey Herrera, executive director of the Cebu Provincial Anti-Drug Abuse Commission (CPADAC), said the urine samples of the four employees were positive for shabu while the other one was for marijuana.

He, however, said the result of the screening would still be subjected to a confirmatory test.

There were 270 permanent and job order employees, as well as municipal officials, who were subjected to the screening.

Herrera said it was the municipal government that requested for the drug test, the first time conducted in the municipality in partnership with CPADAC.

The initiative was also line with the town’s effort to weed out drug users in the municipal government and establish a drug-free workplace, he added.

Republic Act No. 9165 or the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002 provides that any officer or employee found positive of dangerous drugs use shall be dealt with administratively, the offense being a ground for suspension or termination, subject to the provisions of the Labor Code and the Civil Service Law.

Sta. Fe Mayor Jose Esgana announced the random drug test activity right after the flag ceremony.

Two employees will be placed under investigation after they reportedly evaded the test.

Meanwhile, some 27 police officers in the towns of Bantayan, Santa Fe and Madridejos also underwent a drug test last Saturday during a seminar on violence against women and human trafficking.

All of them tested negative for drug use, said Herrera.  (FREEMAN)