Labella fires office employee for illegal drugs use

Cebu City Mayor Edgardo Labella. | CDN Digital File Photo

CEBU CITY, Philippines — A casual employee assigned at the Office of the Mayor was ordered dismissed after he tested positive for illegal drugs use.

Cebu City Mayor Edgardo Labella said that all drug positive employees will also be terminated.

“You have to go. All drug-positive employee, I will fire them,” Labella said in an interview this morning, December 4, 2019.

A total of 42 City Hall employees assigned in different government offices tested positive for illegal drugs use during the series of surprise drug tests organized by the City Office for Substance Abuse Prevention (COSAP) since November.

COSAP also offers assistance for the rehabilitation of the drug positive employees should they decide to already change their ways.

Labella said that the drug test results is an indication that Cosap has been religiously doing its job.  It also showed the seriousness of the drug problems among city government employees.

Still, Labella said he could not help but feel disappointed with the COSAP drug test results.

“If the City Hall has drug positive employees, how much more the other establishments,” the mayor said.

With this, he urged private businesses to also implement surprise drug testing at their respective workplaces. / dcb