NGO to One Direction: No drug test, no PH entry

Louis Tomlinson smoking an illegal substance. Screenshot from MailOnline video.

MANILA — An anti-drugs advocate group appealed on Monday that British boy band One Direction be prohibited from entering the country without undergoing a drug test.

Laban ng Pamilyang Pilipino group appealed to the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) to monitor the boy band which will be performing in the country in March 2015.

“If they want the concert to push through, the members should take a drug test as soon as they arrive at Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) before us and the media,” Jonathan Morales, the group’s spokesperson, and a former PDEA agent said in a statement, published in a report by the Philippine Daily Inquirer.

The group also said that One Direction should strictly abide by the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002, which deems marijuana as an illegal substance.

Morales also added that while the country is strict in imposing the anti-drug regulations of the country among innocent tourists, the more should the government be strict on suspected drug addicts.

The appeal was made days after a leaked video showing One Direction members Zayn Malik and Louis Tomlinson allegedly smoking marijuana went viral on the internet.

In the video, obtained by the United Kingdom-based Daily Mail, Tomlinson said, “So here we are, leaving Peru. Joint lit. Happy days!”

He asked his band mate, “What do you think Zayn about that kind of content?” who responded, “Very controversial.”

Also in the same video, which appeared to have been filmed at the back of a car in Peru during the South American leg of their tour, Tomlinson was heard saying, “He’s having a look. He’s thinking ‘I’m sure I can smell an illegal substance in there’. And he’s hit the nail on the head,” when a motorcycle police officer drives past.

With reports from Philippine Daily Inquirer