TWO casual employees of Cebu City Hall may lose their jobs after admitting that they were drug users.
The admission was made last Tuesday in another random drug test conducted by the Cebu City Office for Substance Abuse (Cosap).
Nine workers from the Coastal Management Board (CMB) and 26 personnel of the Bantay Dagat Commission underwent the test. They all tested negative for drug use, said Dr. Alice Utlang, chief of Cosap.
The contracts of the two workers who admitted using illegal drugs may not be renewed, said Utlang.
“As per policy of the city, all job order and casual employees will no longer be renewed if they test positive for illegal drugs, but we might do something about it to help them because it was a voluntary admission,” she added.
Utlang said the matter will be referred to the City Hall’s Human Resource Department Office.
The casual workers are among 46 City Hall employees who have been found positive for drug use since Cosap started conducting surprise drug tests in January.
Utlang said more random tests were made this year compared to last year.
“We have intensified our drug testing because we want a drug-free work place,” she said.
Aside from City Hall employees, barangay officials and workers and public school teachers were also made to undergo drug tests.
Recently, department heads, assistant department and office supervisors, including Mayor Michael Rama and Vice Mayor Edgardo Labella, submitted themselves to a surprise drug test.
Under City Ordinance 1829, all City Hall workers including officials are required to annually undergo a drug test.