To comply with an ordinance, Cebu City Mayor Michael Rama and City Councilors last week submitted to a drug test.
Never mind that the mayor initially opposed the idea of being tested.
What matters is that he eventually did hand over a urine sample for lab technicians to analyze.
To set an example of transparency, he should go one step farther and make public the results.
Certainly there’s something artificial and pure exhibition about announcing a drug testing policy then having it done under the glare of full publicity.
Certified drug testing labs know that the integrity of a drug test result rests on the element of surprise.
If the subject knows he’s going to be examined, the specimen he gives is already considered contaminated and invalid.
The right way to conduct the test is to do it without prior notice. No one leaves the room or begs off once the test begins. No one is forewarned. And no one goes into the comfort room unmonitored – in cases a urine sample gets watered down , tossed or swtiched.
The ony one who breaks out in a sweat in this kind of exercise is the drug dependent who knows he’ll be outed. So sometimes the no-shows and disappearing acts are instant proof of doubtful conduct.
The results of the first phase of testing still need a confirmatory test to be a definite finding. Sometimes a clerical error occurs or samples get mixed up. Sometimes, a peculiar item in one’s diet or medication he’s taking sets off false results.
This is why care must be used in announcing the results to avoid prematurely placing a stigma on those who submit for such tests. The false labelling of an innocent person as a drug addict can be a devastating experience.
This is what every HR professional, which Mayor Rama used to be in his life before politics, knows about the nuances of drug testing. These are considerations to be seriously taken when the rank and file of City Hall are rounded up to hand over a fresh urine sample from their bodies.
For leaders, actions speak louder than words. They have to make the big gesture and submit to the tests to show that government service is no place for drug users. But we hope they go beyond posing for photos with their negative drug test results in hand.
At P1,000 per testing kit, the cost is hefty. The City Office for Substance Abuse Prevention (Cosap) has to show that the exercise is not just cosmetic or a witchhunt, but a corrective device to identify people who need help to kick a bad habit, and then remove them quickly from the roster of able and qualified public servants until they renew their life.