• GILBERT P. BAYORAN
Some employees of the Negros Occidental provincial government assigned to district hospitals have tested positive for illegal drugs, but the results are still awaiting confirmation from the Department of Health (DOH).
This was revealed on Tuesday, Oct. 13 by Governor Eugenio Jose Lacson, saying the province could not yet disclose the number of employees who tested positive because their samples had been forwarded to the DOH for confirmatory testing.
“We cannot confirm it yet because we have sent it to the DOH for confirmation,” he said.
Lacson said casual employees who are confirmed to have tested positive would be dismissed from service while regular employees would be given a second chance in accordance with Civil Service Commission (CSC) guidelines.
The provincial government, through its Provincial Human Resource Management Office (PHRMO), recently completed the collection of urine samples from 1,962 employees as part of its mandatory random drug testing program.
The testing covered seven provincial government facilities, including Teresa Lopez Jalandoni Provincial Hospital in Silay City, which accounted for the largest number of samples at 673.
Cadiz District Hospital collected 341 samples; Lorenzo D. Zayco District Hospital in Kabankalan City, 284; Don Salvador Benedicto District Hospital in La Carlota City, 177; Gov. Valeriano Gatuslao Memorial District Hospital in Himamaylan City, 175; Economic Enterprise Development Department-Mambukal, 168; and Hinoba-an District Hospital, 145.
The PHRMO facilitated the implementation of the drug testing, which forms part of the provincial government’s continuing efforts to maintain a safe and drug-free workplace and ensure efficient public service. | GPB
