• THERESA MAE DULMAN
Bacolod Mayor Greg Gasataya has urged local government officials to voluntarily undergo drug testing as the city prepares to launch mandatory random drug screenings for its employees by the end of this month.
Gasataya emphasized that he regularly undergoes drug testing, stressing that as the city’s chief executive, he must serve as a role model.
“It’s not mandatory but it is good if everyone should be transparent as in my case, I’ve been doing this ever since I started in (politics),” Gasataya said.
The workforce drug testing is under Executive Order 054, series of 2025, which institutionalizes the drug-free workplace program in Bacolod and the creation of the City Drug-Free Workplace Committee.
City administrator, Atty. Mark Steven Mayo, said July 8 that the LGU is currently finalizing the implementing guidelines.
It targets the testing of 50 percent of all regular, plantilla, and contract of service employees across all departments during the initial phase.
The testing protocol consists of an initial screening, a confirmatory test for positive results, and an optional “challenge test” funded by the concerned employee to contest the finding.
Personnel found drug-positive will be referred to the Department of Social Services and Development for rehabilitation.
Mayo noted that drug testing for members of the Sangguniang Panlungsod remains subject to the discretion of Vice Mayor Claudio Jesus Puentevella.
The intensified focus on internal drug clearing coincides with major enforcement milestones of the Bacolod City Police Office.
Gasataya said that from January to July 2026, police seized 16.6 kilograms of illegal drugs, valued at around P113 million.
“We commend them (BCPO) and continue to support them in their campaign against illegal drugs,” he added. | TMD
