Drug testing kit. (CEBU DAILY NEWS FILE PHOTO)
CEBU CITY, Cebu, Philippines — A total of 41 Cebu City Hall employees have tested positive for illegal drug use in a series of surprise tests conducted since Nov. 28.
Of this number, 13 were from the Cebu City Transportation Office (CCTO), according to Jonah John Rodriguez, head of the City Office for Substance Abuse Prevention (Cosap).
“That was the first time we conducted a drug test for all [of the 624 CCTO] employees. I am, however, sad with the outcome of the test,” he told local reporters.
Rodriguez said samples which yielded positive results would undergo a confirmatory test. If the results turned out positive again, the concerned employees could lose their jobs.
He, however, asked Cebu City Mayor Michael Rama to let those who turned positive for drug use, most of them casual and job order employees, to also undergo rehabilitation.
“We encourage those employees who tested positive to enroll in our out-patient drug rehabilitation program,” Rodriguez said.
Cosap, he said, will offer a rehabilitation program, which runs for six months, to help illegal drug users live normal lives.
If no one will help them, Rodriguez said drug dependents would end up either in jail, a mental institution or in the cemetery.
“We should help them because they really need help,” he said.
Rodriguez lauded government offices where no one tested positive for illegal drug use, like the Cebu City Prevention, Restoration, Order, Beautification and Enhancement which turned out “clean” in the recent tests.