Osmeña bats for drug rehab for Asi, Peña

Sen. John Osmeña suggested yesterday that Philippine Basketball Association players Asi Taulava of Talk and Text and Dorian Peña of San Miguel be placed on compulsory drug rehabilitation for flunking the drug test conducted by the PBA and the Games and Amusement Board recently.

In a statement, Osmeña, a member of the Senate committee on games and amusement, said Taulava and Peña should be immediately tested by a competent testing facility to determine if they are drug dependents.

"If Taulava and Pena are found to be drug dependents, they should be placed under compulsory confinement and have to undergo a rehabilitation and treatment program intended for drug dependents," said Osmeña.

PBA commissioner Noli Eala couldn’t be reached for comment but it has been reported in The STAR exclusive that Taulava and Peña came out clean in subsequent tests.

Talk N Text board representative Ricky Vargas ordered Taulava to undergo separate tests at the Makati Medical Center and the PNP Crime Laboratory. Both tests showed negative results.

Osmeña also wrote the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) Anselmo Avenido Jr. to invoke sections 61 and 62, Article 8 of Republic Act 9165 or the Comprehensive Dangerous Drug Acts of 2002 against Taulava and Peña.

He said section 61 calls for the compulsory confinement of a drug dependent who refuses to apply under the voluntary submission program. Section 62, on the other hand, requires compulsory submission of a drug dependent charged with an offense to treatment and rehabilitation.

"I am calling your attention to sections 61 and 62 of RA 9165. If Taulava and Peña are found to be drug dependents, their compulsory confinement should take effect in accordance with the law of the Comprehensive Dangerous Drug Act of 2002," Osmeña said in the letter.