Senators weigh in on drug testing for elected officials

By Camille A. Aguinaldo
SENATORS on Tuesday supported proposals for elected officials to undergo mandatory drug testing.
In a text message to reporters, Senate President Vicente C. Sotto III said he has been calling for such action and recalled including such provisions in Republic Act 9165 or the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002.
“SC (Supreme Court) shot it down. I placed in the law a drug test for all candidates for all public offices but it was declared unconstitutional. No need for a law. We can use some provisions of RA 9165 to urge public officials for drug testing,” he said.
For their part, Senators Antonio F. Trillanes IV, Joel J. Villanueva, Francis G. Escudero, and Sherwin T. Gatchalian also expressed support for the proposal. Mr. Trillanes said President Rodrigo R. Duterte should be the first government official to undergo drug testing.
“I’m okay with that. And Duterte himself should be the first (to undergo drug testing) because it seems like he’s on drugs when he speaks and thinks,” Mr. Trillanes said in a text message to reporters.
“Public office is a public trust. Even in penalties, we should have stiffer penalties as public officials,” Mr. Villanueva said in a text message to reporters.
“Since we are strict with the anti-drugs campaign, we should be leading. We can take it from the President all the way down to the kagawads that we make it mandatory before assumption of office,” Mr. Gatchalian told reporters on Monday at the Senate headquarters in Pasay City.
However, Senator Aquilino Martin L. Pimentel III said the government should focus instead on going after those who manufacture or import illegal drugs.
“Go after these big shots….The effort should be to go after these syndicates and big time people involved in the illegal drug trade. Attack the supply of drugs,” he said in a text message to reporters.
The SC in 2008 declared unconstitutional the provisions of RA 9165 requiring mandatory drug testing for candidates vying for national and local elective posts.
The law provides mandatory drug testing only to driver’s license applicants, firearms license and permit to carry firearms applicants, as well as the military, the police and other law enforcers. Random drug testing may be conducted among students in secondary and tertiary schools as well as officers and employees in public and private offices.
Surigao del Norte Rep. Robert Ace S. Barbers, who heads the House committee on dangerous drugs, earlier said elected officials should also undergo mandatory testing aside from elementary students. He said test results should be released to the public. Government officials who tested positive should also be removed from their positions.