WITH the goal of maintaining the non-existence of illegal drugs in local communities, almost 500 barangay officials and policemen in Masantol town were required to undergo drug testing recently.
A total of 389 village chiefs, councilmen and members of the Sangguniang Kabataan, and 33 personnel of the Masantol Police Station submitted themselves to the surprise drug testing organized by the local government and police.
According to Chief Inspector Nestor Bulatao, Jr., Masantol police chief, the activity aims to ensure that the elected officials and deployed police personnel can perform their respective duties in making communities free from illegal drugs.
As frontliners of the campaign against illegal drugs, Bulatao said village officials and policemen must ensure that they are not, in any way, engaged or involved in the use and illegal drugs, or the protection of people peddling it.
“Our campaign against illegal drugs is relentless and does not excuse any person, whether you are a big time or plain citizen. And this surprise drug testing among our personnel and new and re-elected village officials is another step in proving that we are more than serious in this,” he said.
Fortunately, Bulatao disclosed that all barangay officials and police personnel tested negative on the use of illegal drugs based on the on-the-spot urine samples they submitted to the Municipal Health Office staff.
Meanwhile, Mayor Danilo Guintu expressed optimism on the outcome of the drug testing, saying the results will be a boost in the local government’s goal to maintain its drug cleared status.
“We have 15 new barangay captains, and a new chief of police that is why the challenge to maintain our drug cleared status seems bigger for us. But with the results of the drug tests we conducted among our village officials and local police, I am more confident that the success of our campaign against illegal drugs will be sustained,” he said.