Whether it was out of spite or a genuine commitment to the voting public, Dr. Alice Utlang’s call for Cebu City candidates to undergo drug tests still serves its purpose of keeping them honest and transparent to the constituents.
Dr. Utlang, who used to head the City Veterinarian’s Office for so many years before being reassigned by Mayor Michael Rama to the Cebu City Office for Substance Abuse Prevention (Cosap), has been hankering for her return to her old post for sometime now.
Her suggestion is seen as a dig at the mayor who, if not accused by critics of being a drug user due to his gaunt physique yet still hyperactive demeanor, is perceived as being soft on drug peddlers and drug addicts.
While the Commission on Elections (Comelec) said there is no law requiring candidates to undergo drug tests and that a resolution they passed that mandated candidates to do so had been rejected by the Supreme Court, Utlang is emboldened to issue the call by virtue of a city ordinance requiring Cebu City’s candidates to submit themselves to testing.
Though Rama may test negative for drug use and so many of the city’s candidates publicly supported the drug test requirement that still doesn’t diminish its importance in any way.
If anything, the drug test requirement should be part of the job criteria of any public office or private company. Heck, the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) said a drug test is required for anyone wishing to secure a driver’s license.
If a candidate’s psychological profile is subject to public evaluation and criticism, as evidenced when the results of President Benigno Aquino III’s psychological assessment during his high school years went viral on the Internet, then a drug test requirement is a no-brainer.
While drug use is not alien in the entertainment scene—there are famous and talented musical artists and actors who are known to be actively engaged or have dabbled in drugs and may have become more creative for doing so—it is anathema to public service where public officials are expected to be of sound mind and body.
Not that we expect public officials to be the clean, perfect picture of good health, running marathons at every opportunity—US President Franklin Roosevelt managed to steer his country in its darkest hours during World War II while confined to a wheelchair—but the public rightfully expects their elected officials to be physically and mentally able to cope with the demands of the job.
And that means being drug-free, not medication free—we are no strangers to the fact that public officials at a certain age need their meds to maintain good health.
We also hope that said officials and candidates are committed to keeping the streets drug-free.
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