• CHRYSEE G. SAMILLANO
Members of the Sangguniang Panlungsod of Bacolod City are ready to undergo drug test anytime, acting Bacolod Mayor El Cid Familiaran said yesterday.
Familiaran, who was designated by Mayor Alfredo Abelardo Benitez as acting mayor from August 3 to 5, said they requested the City Health Office (CHO) to conduct drug test at the SP on Wednesday.
However, they were not available, probably because they may have been directed by the mayor to conduct drug testing on other city employees first.
Since the SP members cannot go to the CHO because they had their regular session that day, they will have to wait for the availability of the CHO to conduct the drug test, he said.
Familiaran earlier said they should serve as role models for their constituents and that he believes that all employees should also submit themselves to voluntary drug testing.
Based on the report of the City Anti-Drug Abuse Council (CADAC), 32 regular and job order personnel of the Bacolod Traffic Authority Office (BTAO) and 21 job order casuals assigned to the Public Order and Safety Office (POSO) tested positive for illegal drugs during a random drug test conducted by the CADAC in coordination with the City Health Office from July 28 to August 1.
Police Brig. Gen. Primitivo Tabujara, CADAC project coordinator, however, said the drug test results of the 53 BTAO and POSO personnel are still subject to confirmatory testing. Four of the BTAO personnel who tested positive were regular employees.
Tabujara said that the total number of employees who underwent drug testing from Friday to Tuesday, is 705, which already includes 282 BTAO and 381 POSO personnel.
Employees of the CADAC, City Tourism, MABB CAB, as well as the mayor, who chairs CADAC, all tested negative, he said.
Tabujara said he has scheduled a general drug use assessment on August 10 to determine whether the 53 BTAO and POSO personnel, who tested positive for drugs are categorized as low-risk, mild or moderately affected. Those recommended for termination will have a chance to be reemployed if they pass the rehabilitation and other intervention programs of the city.
They also plan to subject other city employees to random drug testing since they have received information from the police and the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) that there are those who are using illegal drugs (shabu or marijuana), he said.*
