EDITORIAL - Busay capt should not blame politics for his predicament

As far as Busay, Cebu City barangay captain Amilo Lopez is concerned, the results of the recent drug test involving at least 60 village chieftains in the city in which he was the only one found positive was tainted with politics considering his alliance with the opposition.

Lopez, a Team Rama member, refuted the result of the drug test during a press conference, saying it was impossible for him to test positive since he never used any illegal drugs. His fellow barangay officials also came to his defense, questioning the result of the test.

He suspected that the medicines he is taking for his heart ailment may have something to do with his testing positive in the test. The barangay captain said that after his hospitalization in December, he started taking maintenance drugs.

City Office for Substance Abuse Prevention Chief Alice Utlang denied Lopez's allegations that politics played a role in the results of the test, conducted specifically for shabu, marijuana, cocaine, opium, and ecstasy. She said it was  impossible for Lopez's heart medication to affect the test result.

It is well within the rights of Lopez to refute the results of the test. He can exhaust all legal means to prove that he does not use illegal drugs and that his testing positive in the drug test was the result of his heart medication.

If he really wants to combat head on the negative effects stemming from the results of the drug test, Lopez should not blame politics for his predicament. That is because it's impossible for the barangay captain to be singled out by his political opponents considering the fact that he is not among the known critics of the new administration. 

Just because he is with the opposition does not mean Lopez can already consider himself as an easy target for political persecution. He has never been a vocal opponent of Mayor Tomas Osmeña, unlike Apas Barangay Captain Ramil Ayuman or Tisa Barangay Captain and Association of Barangay Councils President Philip Zafra.

Lopez should wait for the confirmatory results of the test before taking any legal action. Or he should consider undergoing another drug test using hair sample, as Osmeña suggested, if he really wants to prove that the result of the previous test was just an accident.