BANGUED, ABRA -- Only 3.4 percent of all 264 officials and employees of the Abra Electric Cooperative (Abreco) were found positive of drug use, belying intelligence data from both the police and the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) that 90 of them are into drugs.
Abreco general manager Loreto Seares Jr. who initiated the cooperative-wide drug testing said only nine of the 264 officials and employees turned out positive, hence, clearing the stigma sweeping the organization with more than 30,000 as their member-consumers.
Abra police and PDEA earlier told the cooperative's management that there were 90 employees into drugs.
All the nine employees will be terminated, the power cooperative manager said invoking the cooperative’s “Code of Conduct”, explaining even if drug abuse did not occur inside Abreco’s jurisdiction, nor part of their official functions, duties and tasks as cooperative employees, “we consider their private capacity as drug personalities to be tantamount to a disservice to our member-consumers and jeopardizing the image of the cooperative.”
But confirmatory blood tests will also be instituted on the nine employees, which Seares Jr. did not name, to find out their offense definitively.
The Abreco manager added he wants to set an example for all organizations in Abra reaffirming the reputation of the cooperative of zero-tolerance on unlawful offenses.
Urine tests were obtained from all the 264 officials and employees from July 27 to August 3 and was even extended up to August 5.
“Drug abuse has no place inside Abreco,” Seares Jr. reaffirmed, as he said, “we like to show our support to Project Pagbabago of the Duterte administration, while wishing to maintain a healthy and productive workforce. (Ace Alegre)