Guv fires‘drug- using’ workers

CEBU, Philippines - Three casual employees of the Cebu provincial government found positive of drug use have been dismissed from service.

Cebu Governor Hilario Davide III made the pronouncement but did not divulge as to what office the three employees were detailed.

“The three casuals were also terminated. Like I said, I don’t want drug users here in the provincial government. Ang nagpabilin na lang ang (The only one left is the) regular (employee),” he said.

The governor said the regular employee has yet to face formal charges.

It is the Committee on Discipline and Investigation, headed by Provincial Administrator Mark Tolentino, that would determine the fate of the regular employee.

Under the existing rules of the Civil Service Commission, government officials and employees found positive of using drugs will be terminated or suspended from service.

In a random drug testing at the Capitol spearheaded by the Cebu Provincial Anti-drug Abuse Council recently, nine of the 169 employees who underwent the screening tested positive. Of the nine, five were outsourced workers, three were casuals while one was a regular employee.

The results were then subjected to a confirmatory test at the laboratory of the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency. The test yielded positive of shabu substance.

Last week, the five outsourced employees were also dismissed from their agency. —/RHM (FREEMAN)