13 soldiers probed after failing drug test

THE Philippine Army on Wednesday said it was investigating its personnel who failed the initial screening of the mandatory drug test conducted at Fort Bonifacio last Tuesday in coordination with the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency.

Thirteen out of 2,500 Army personnel from different post units and offices based in Fort Bonifacio failed the initial screening test and were immediately required to undergo further confirmatory test in a Department of Health-accredited drug testing establishment.

The 13 personnel are now under restriction and custody of the Philippine Army for further investigation while waiting for the confirmatory test result,  Army spokesperson Col. Benjamin Hao said in a statement.

“Everybody was required to undergo the drug test led by our Army commanding general.  If the confirmatory test is positive, it is enough evidence for us to discharge our personnel.  But we emphasized that due process is given to all our personnel based on existing laws and regulations about illegal drugs,” he said.

The drug test was unannounced. It was implemented during the conduct of the soldiers’ morning taebo exercise on Tuesday.

“The Philippine Army is very serious in its anti-drug campaign.  Since we started this campaign, 204 soldiers nationwide were already discharged from the service because of cases related to illegal drugs.  [A total of] 131 soldiers nationwide were discharged in 2013; 38 in 2014; 30 in 2015; and 5 so far this year),” he said.

Section 36, Article 3 of Republic Act No. 9165 or the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002, mandates the conduct of random drug testing to public and private officers for purposes of reducing the risk in the workplace. This same provision also mandates the conduct of annual mandatory drug test to all members of the military./ac