Davao City workers found drug use positive

City Anti-Drug Abuse Council (CADAC) Action Officer Michael Denton Aportadera said the three were among the 1,127 employees who underwent the random drug test. (ShutterStock image)

DAVAO CITY – The City Anti-Drug Abuse Council (CADAC) will look into the records of three City Hall employees tested positive of illegal drug use during the mandatory random drug test of the city government last October.

City Anti-Drug Abuse Council (CADAC) Action Officer Michael Denton Aportadera said the three were among the 1,127 employees who underwent the random drug test.

“We did the confirmatory test for the three employees and it turned out that they are really positive of illegal drugs,” he said.

Aportadera, however, did not name the three employees. Under the Civil Service law, anyone who tested positive during the mandatory random drug test will be terminated from the local government.

Aportadera underscored the importance of ensuring that all the city hall employees are clear from illegal drugs since they carry the name of the city government whether they are regular or contractual.

“Mayor Sara (Duterte-Carpio) is very much keen with a clean lifestyle especially among city hall employees since we are the front liners in serving the people and as a government employee we should also follow the rules of law,” he said.

Aportadera said more employees would undergo a mandatory random drug test to cover the close to 12,000 employees of the city government.

Earlier, Mayor Duterte-Carpio warned those who would be tested positive for illegal drugs that they would be terminated immediately.

Although she said she would also consider the length of service of the employee, thus, she would put them under the Community Based Rehabilitation Program of the city government to help them.

“If they will be found positive, we will look into their records and maybe we can put them under the rehab program of the city government,” she said.