Press Release
July 13, 2016

Walk the talk, Senator Zubiri urges government to undergo drug testing

Zubiri undergoes drugs-testing, Senate staff follow suit

"Walk the talk," Senator Zubiri said as he subjected himself to a test for drug use with a private laboratory under contract with the Philippine Senate. He urged government officials and employees to undergo tests for drug use.

"As govt officials, we should set the example, both elected and appointed," Zubiri stressed.

"I'm alarmed that 197 government people, of which 63 were elected, used drugs and are actually facing charges as reported for last year by govt. We can expect these numbers to rise with a President Duterte aiming for a drug-free country."

Data from the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency show that from January to December 2015, "in collaboration with the Philippine National Police (PNP), the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI), the Bureau of Customs (BoC) and other law enforcement agencies (OLEAs), government arrested 37 foreign nationals, 103 government employees, 63 elected officials, 31 law enforcers, 102 drug group leaders/members, 248 drug den owners, 10 armed group members, six (6) target-listed suspects, 47 wanted-listed suspects, 571 drug suspects from high-impact operations, and 603 other HVTs."

"To all government employees & officials, I extend this challenge. Apparently, R. A. 9165 which ordered government offices to implement mandatory random testing for drug use is inherently weak. So, I filed Senate Resolution ___ to direct the campaign towards actually executing mandatory drug-testing in government."

Zubiri filed Senate Resolution No. ___ or RESOLUTION EXPRESSING THE SENSE OF THE SENATE OF THE PHILIPPINES TO MANDATE GOVERNMENT OFFICES TO STRICTLY OBSERVE AND IMPLEMENT THE LAW ON MANDATORY RANDOM DRUG TESTING IN SUPPORT OF THE DRUG-FREE WORKPLACE PROGRAM OF THE GOVERNMENT.

Realizing the magnitude of tasks assigned to the Health department in R. A. 9165, Zubiri said government must pour resources into govt drug-testing centers. "Let's fund hospitals so they can speed up the testing. Apparently, there is a backlog of offices waiting to be tested. I know several government offices have lined up with our Department of Health for drug tests."

Zubiri said he will support Budget requests for government hospitals to beef up equipment and supplies and hire more personnel to carry out the tests. "Generally, govt hospitals are known to practice the best testing protocol and have the best facilities. It's an open secret that several privately-run drug-testing centers are purposely in only for the money & their results are questionable. Or, their people are prone to accept bribes to give fake results. They also resort to certain practices because the presence of illegal drugs can be masked by other drugs ingested for that nefarious purpose."

"We will help the DOH to upgrade their facilities & increase testing personnel so we can urge the LTO to patronize our government testing facilities. By that, we get credible results & the DOH gets a reliable source of revenues in the fees charged."

Zubiri noted that "fly-by-night drug-testing centers have mushroomed as drug tests are a common requirement for job applicants, driver's license applicants and many others."

Zubiri explained his action to undergo the tests. "If we require applicants for low positions to submit a negative-for- drugs certificate , we should require no less of people occupying higher positions. If submitting a negative result is the only positive thing you do today, that will be great."

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