Officials and employees of the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) have submitted themselves to a random drug test at the agency’s central office, in line with President Rodrigo Duterte’s campaign for drug-free workplaces.
“This is not meant to penalize government workers,” CHED Officer-in-Charge Prospero de Vera III said in a statement on Tuesday.
According to de Vera, the move is based on the Civil Service Commission (CSC) Memorandum Circular (MC) No. 13 series of 2017 or the Guidelines for Mandatory Drug Testing for Public Officials and Employees and Other Purposes.”
CSC’s memo states that drug testing is a requirement for the retention of officials and employees in government service. In case an official or employee’s specimen tests positive, he or she would be required to submit another specimen within the same day for a confirmatory test.
If the second test comes back with another positive result, the official or employee will go through a Drug Dependency Examination from the Department of Health so his or her level of drug use can be assessed.
De Vera said the procedure will ensure that CHED officials and employees can perform well and render good service.
“We want to make sure that all individuals in the Commission are performing their functions well and that there are no obstacles to their delivery of efficient public service,” he added. /ee