CEBU CITY, Philippines - A former Dangerous Drugs Board (DDB) official Monday suggested the holding of drugs testing for all government employees before they are given their Christmas bonuses.
The move, said former DDB Vice Chairman Paul Oaminal, ensures that taxpayers' money used to provide such Christmas bonuses for government employees are not wasted on public servants who are also drug users.
Oaminal said government offices must enforce drugs testing as part of the "Drug Free Workplace" program being implemented even in private establishments.
"The strategy is being undertaken by Mayor Benjamin Abalos of Mandaluyong City. If Mandaluyong could do it, why can't the rest of the local government units (LGUs) have the political will to replicate it," Oaminal asked.
The former DDB official believes that the reason why there are governors, mayors and barangay captains who refuse to adopt the "Drug Free Workplace Program" in their jurisdiction is because "they are afraid that their favored employees might turn out to be positive for drugs."
Chief executives must even be the first to undergo drugs testing for them to have moral ascendancy over their employees, Oaminal underlined. One of the reasons where the public is cynical about government efforts to push its anti-drugs campaign is the perception that there are government employees who are drug users, he pointed out.
