92 AFP personnel dismissed from service for illegal drug use

The Department of National Defense said on Tuesday that 92 personnel from the Armed Forces of the Philippines were dismissed from service for illegal drug use.

“AFP personnel who tested positive for using prohibited drugs were discharged or dismissed from the service, which included one military officer, 64 enlisted personnel, 14 civilian active auxiliaries and 4 civilian employees for the year 2016 and nine enlisted personnel for the first quarter of 2017,” Director Arsenio Andolong of the DND public affairs service said in a statement.

A total of 30,974 military officers, enlisted personnel, and civilian employees were subjected to drug testing in 2016 and 1,821 personnel were tested in the first quarter of 2017.

The series of random drug testing last year was conducted even before President Rodrigo Duterte assumed office. The anti-drug campaign is a top priority of the current administration.

The AFP plays a support role to the government’s crackdown on illegal drugs, spearheaded by the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency and the Philippine National Police.

On Tuesday, a DND-wide seminar was held for a drug-free workplace with the theme, “A Drug Free Defense is a Credible Defense” at the AFP Commissioned Officers Club at Camp Aguinaldo.

Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana also signed a memorandum early this year for an implementation of the guidelines for a drug-free workplace. This includes: mandatory drug test as a pre-employment requirement; random drug test for personnel; advocacy, education and training programs and activities; display of messages for a drug-free workplace; and physical fitness programs. JE/rga