By Dominique Gabriel G. Bañaga 

Four personnel of the Silay City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (CDRRMO) could be removed from their posts after they were tested positive for illegal drug use in another round of surprise drug tests last Friday, July 14.

Silay Mayor Joedith Gallego ordered the surprise drug tests in coordination with the city police and the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency, for the 126 CDRRMO personnel.

Last week, the local government unit fired seven city traffic enforcers and a city government employee after testing positive for drug use.

The employee faces possible sanctions, based on the regulations set by the Civil Service Commission.

Gallego ordered the surprise drug tests following a buy-bust operation earlier this month that resulted in the arrest of two city government job order employees, 43-year-old Richard Valenzuela and 30-year-old Romel Nerio.

Thirteen grams of suspected shabu worth P88,400 and drug paraphernalia were recovered from the two.

Earlier, Negros Occidental Governor Eugenio Jose Lacson was also eyeing conducting random drug testing for the more than 3,000 employees of the provincial government.

There is really no positive gain when a government worker is using illegal drugs as discipline will always be given, he said.

“If you feel secure because of jobs in the government, you are expected to behave well,” Lacson said./DGB, WDJ