NO Davao City Police Office personnel are under the influence of illegal drugs, the Davao City Police Office (DCPO) spokesperson said.
"Wala [may mga nadakpan na mga pulis na naga-illegal drugs] and hopefully ma-maintain (No personnel were apprehended because of illegal drugs and hopefully this will be maintained),"Police Major Catherine Dela Rey, spokesperson, said during a radio interview, on June 5, 2023.
This was raised after Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) Secretary Benhur Abalos mandated random drug testing among local government units (LGUs) and government agencies under DILG, on June 2.
Abalos said DILG will be strictly implementing random drug testing as required under the Republic Act (RA) 9165 or the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002.
All LGUs (including barangays, municipalities, cities, and provinces), the Philippine National Police (PNP), the Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP), and the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP) are under the DILGs mandate.
The National Commission on Muslim Filipinos, National Police Commission, National Youth Commission, and Philippine Commission on Women are also under the DILG.
In response to Abalos, Dela Rey said DCPO, as mandated by the PNP and the Police Regional Office-Davao Region (PRO-Davao) had already done random drug tests on their personnel.
Bisag wala pa nang directive ni Secretary Abalos, ang Philippine National Police naa mi internal cleansing so naa jud mi gina-conduct na random drug tests sa mga personahe sa Police Regional 11 specifically diri sa Davao City Police Office so naa tay gina-conduct na random drug test (Even without a directive from Secretary Abalos, our police has been conducting internal cleansing efforts through random drug tests that are being conducted on our personnel), Dela Rey said.
Although kabalo mi anytime naay drug test, surprise lang ang day ug ang time (Anytime we might be tested, we just dont know what day and what time)& as law enforcers dili jud dapat mi ma-involve sa illegal drug trade, paggamit sa illegal na droga (As law enforcers, we should not be involved in the illegal drug trade or use of illegal drugs), she added.
The DCPO spokesperson emphasized that police officers who are caught with drugs or under the influence of drugs can be dismissed.
Police station commanders are also being advised to take accountability for their personnel.
Kung naa poy mag-positive sa isa ka personnel isa na siya sa one-strike policy pwede siya ma-relieve sa iyang position, apil station commander, maong isig bantayay mi (If one police tests positive, they are subject to the one-strike policy and may be relieved of their position, including station commanders. This is why we always guard each other), Dela Rey said.
Dela Rey said the DCPO is continually reminding all police officers to stay away from drugs as these bring them no good.