• GILBERT P. BAYORAN
The call for proclaimed winners of the recent Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan Elections (BSKE) to undergo drug test before assuming office is upon the discretion of their respective local chief executives, Governor Eugenio Jose Lacson yesterday.
Lacson made the statement as Mayor Jerry Treñas called on all barangay and SK officials in Iloilo City to undergo a drug test and to come clean before they assume office.
“I leave it to the discretion of the municipal and city mayors, if they feel there is a need to call for a drug test,” the governor said. “If you do that, you should also include yourselves,” apparently referring to the mayors.
Interior Secretary Benhur Abalos earlier ordered random drug testing in all attached agencies and bureaus under the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) as well as in all local government units (LGUs) as required under Republic Act 9165 or the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002.
The DILG supervises all LGUs, including barangays, municipalities, cities and provinces, as well as the Philippine National Police, Bureau of Fire Protection and Bureau of Jail Management and Penology.
Three of the more than 13,600 police officers in Western Visayas are now facing dismissal from police service, after being tested positive for use of illegal drugs, based on the report of the Police Regional Office-6.
Abalos said that while the government is pushing for supply reduction operations, there should also be demand reduction interventions, especially within its quarters. | GB
