BACOLOD City Councilor Caesar Distrito, chairperson of the City Council committee on laws, expressed his support on the proposal to require all the city officials and employees for a mandatory drug testing.
“I’m in favor because drug testing could help cleanse the rank of the elected officials and the bureaucracy or the city employees,” Distrito said.
He said the public office is a public trust and the public should have a trust in them.
“I’m willing to undergo a drug test because we must be a good example. It’s a good move that there will be a drug test for city officials and employees,” he added.
Mayor Evelio Leonardia earlier said he is planning that all the city employees including the officials will undergo a mandatory drug testing.
Some of the barangays officials and its employees also underwent in mandatory drug test through the initiatives of their village chiefs after President Rodrigo Duterte earlier warned a village chief in Bacolod who was engaged in illegal drugs.
On the implementation of mandatory drug testing in colleges and universities next year, Distrito said the law is very specific that it would only be a voluntary drug test and not mandatory.
“The implementation of mandatory drug testing is different from the city officials and employees. We are talking here the students and if it will become a mandatory drug test then there should be a law to be approved and the payment of the drug test should be shouldered by the government or by the schools and not by the students,” he said.
He added the implementation of the drug test for high schools and schools should pass in constitutionality test where the court will resolve that it could not violate the right against self-incrimination.
The Commission on Higher Education (CHED) earlier said that students in universities, colleges, and higher education institutions will be required to undergo mandatory random drug testing come the academic year 2019-2020.
The CHED said this action is based on the commissions' memorandum 18, in accordance with Republic Act 9165 or The Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002.