Provincial Legal Officer Atty. Alberto Nellas confirmed Tuesday, January 16, that regular Capitol employees who tested positive for illegal drug use will face administrative charges and would be dismissed from service as a penalty.
Nellas also said that drug test results of employees who got positive results have already been submitted for confirmatory test to the testing center contracted by the province.
"Once they get positive in the confirmatory tests, regular employees would face administrative proceedings for grave misconduct and could be dismissed from service," Nellas said.
A total of 27 Capitol employees including job order or contract of service, casual, and regular employees have tested positive for illegal drug use in a drug test conducted in December 2023.
However, Nellas said they cannot reveal the names and details of the employees as their privacy are protected under the Provincial Workplace Drug-Free Ordinance.
"If they are positive in the confirmatory test, the employee can challenge at their own expense," he said.
Only the governor and the provincial administrator have copies of the drug test results and confirmatory tests done by a company contracted by the province, Nellas added.
"We are also accountable to the public that we are paying for the salaries using public funds of employees who using illegal drugs," he further explained.
The contracts of JOs and COs who tested positive for illegal drug use were not renewed by the Capitol and they lost their jobs at the start of this year.*