THE Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency has confirmed the results of a surprise drug test that initially found nine employees of the Cebu provincial government positive for drug use.
The employees — eight men and a woman — were subjected to another round of tests to validate the results of the surprise test, according to Cebu Provincial Anti-Drug Abuse Council (CPADAC) Executive Director Joey Herrera.
Most of the employees were outsourced staffers.
“This is definitely a cause of concern for us in the council especially that the governor is really pushing for a drug-free workplace,” he told Cebu Daily News.
“We will get the profile of these employees and investigate from there. Maybe we can get something useful from it for our continuing anti-drug campaign,” added Herrera.
The Capitol is withholding the names of the employees and their departments until the test results are presented to Cebu Gov. Hilario Davide III who heads the CPADAC.
“The concerned department heads will still have to be informed for possible administrative action,” she said in a text message.
The employees may be suspended or dismissed from office depending on the recommendation of the provincial government’s Committee on Disciple and Investigation.
Davide said the workers will likely be dismissed from office if “evidence of drug abuse are determined.”