Busay barangay chairman denies drug use

Busay Barangay captain Amilo Lopez shows his maintenance drugs to reporters which he said he has been taking prior to the surprise drug test last Thursday. (CDN PHOTO/JUNJIE MENDOZA)

BUSAY barangay chairman Amilo Lopez questioned why the Cebu City Office for Substance Abuse and Prevention (Cosap) announced non-confirmatory results of the surprise drug test organized by the Association of Barangay Council (ABC) yesterday.

Lopez was the lone barangay official among all 66 barangay officials who initially tested positive for drug test during the screening held in White Gold Restauarant last October 20. “In my entire lifetime, I have never tasted or even took a sniff of those illegal substance. I am willing to undergo several drug testings again and again to show that I am not guilty, and that I never been into drugs in my life,” said Lopez.

In his press conference earlier at Busay’s barangay hall, Lopez said the results may be derived from the medications he is taking to suppress his hypertension. He showed reporters the eight different types of medicines he took before he was screened by Dr. Alice Utlang, Cosap head, and several personnel from the mentioned office. These include Ranitidine, Clopidogrel, and Raproxen.

“I laughed because at first, I thought Doc Alice (Utlang) was just joking when he told I was positive but she was not… I cried after Dr. Utlang told me about the news, and my family, and my staff in the barangay hall. It destroyed me, my family and Barangay Busay,” Lopez said.

Lopez was accompanied by his staff during the press conference, and former Busay barangay chairman and now councilman Eliodoro Sanchez. They also announced that they will file for a resolution to bar Lopez’s removal from his post. “We will support our barangay captain. We will not let him resign. Under the local government code, only the DILG (Department of Interior and Local Government) can take him away,” Busay barangay councilman Kevin Anthony Sanchez said