Anti-drug commission urges stricter hiring guidelines in LGUs

The Cebu Provincial Anti-Drug Commission (CPADAC) called on municipal and city governments in the province last week to strictly monitor the hiring of employees.

Joey Herrera, CPADAC executive director, said their random drug tests conducted from March 31, 2014 to January 20 this year showed that 3.5 percent of local government employees tested positive for drug use.

Of the 1,570 employees that underwent testing, Herrera said there were 68 employees that tested positive for using shabu and marijuana in the province.

He said 21 out of the 68 were employed in provincial hospitals. Herrera said all employees that tested positive for drug use were dismissed.

In Northern Cebu, there were three workers in Daanbantayan that tested positive and one each in Tuburan, Oslob and Tudela towns.

San Francisco town has eight employees that tested positive while Naga City has 10 employees found to have used drugs.

The towns of Alcoy and Ronda each have five employees that tested positive while Asturias and Pinamungajan towns each had two employees that tested positive for drug use.

Moalboal town has four employees that tested positive while Argao had three municipal employees found to have used drugs.

About 10 employees– one from the Provincial Environment and Natural Resources Office (PENRO), four from the Cebu South Bus Terminal (CSBT) and six from the Carcar Provincial Hospital—tested positive.

Provincial Board (PB) Member Ivy Meca, co-chairperson of the CPADAC, said each local government is evaluated by the provincial government based on scorecards they prepared that outline their campaign against illegal drugs.

The province allocated P2 million in its campaign against illegal drugs. Meca said each LGU should help eradicate the drug menace in their respective areas.