Interior Secretary Benhur Abalos has ordered random drug testing in all Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) affiliated departments and bureaus, as well as all local government units (LGUs).
Abalos stated that the DILG would strictly enforce the random drug testing mandated by Republic Act 9165, also known as the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002.
The DILG plans to release a circular requiring random drug testing in all of its affiliated agencies, which include all LGUs, which include barangays, municipalities, cities, and provinces, as well as the Philippine National Police (PNP), Bureau of Fire Protection, and Bureau of Jail Management and Penology.
Abalos mentioned that employees who test positive for illegal drugs could also be terminated from service.
While the government is pushing supply reduction operations, he believes there should also be demand reduction measures, particularly within its own quarters.
Meanwhile,PNP chief Gen. Benjamin Acorda Jr. announced Monday that the PNP will no longer use the so-called reprojection policy, which involves reassigning police officers suspected of wrongdoing to different units or districts.
The problem of reprojection arose after Sen. Ronald dela Rosa stated that, as PNP commander at the time, he relocated recently fired police master sergeant Rodolfo Mayo Jr. to Mindanao after finding he was involved in illegal drug activities.
Mayo was detained in October last year after a raid on his lending business in Tondo, Manila, uncovered 990 kilograms of shabu worth P6.7 billion.
According to Acorda, PNP drug enforcement officers and workers should have no disciplinary history.
He also stated that police officers should be subjected to more stringent vetting before being deployed to the PNP Drug Enforcement Group and other anti-narcotics organizations.
