By Mae Singuay
Four regular employees of the Bacolod City Traffic Office (BTAO) will be placed under a 60-day preventive suspension for alleged illegal drug use.
BTAO head, Police Major Junji Liba said the employees who tested positive for illegal drugs were three traffic enforcers and one assigned as office staff.
He said the four employees were placed under restriction pending the investigation and official directive from Mayor Alfredo Abelardo Benitez.
Meanwhile, Romeo Carlos Ting Jr., City Legal Office head, said yesterday they have already drafted the suspension order which only awaits Benitez’s signature.
He added that they would serve the order immediately to the respondents as a formal charge for grave misconduct.
However, Benitez has designated Vice Mayor El Cid Familiaran as acting mayor for three days, from August 3 to 5, due to official travel.
Primitivo Tabujara, coordinator and focal person of the City Anti-Drug Abuse Council, said the four regular employees were included in the 53 individuals who tested positive for illegal drug use during the five-day random drug testing from July 28 to August 1.
Tabujara has suggested Benitez to conduct interviews with those who were found positive for illegal drug use and to convince them to participate in the assessment on August 10 by the City Health Office.
Earlier, Benitez said job order (JO) employees who were positive for illegal drugs would be terminated.
He added that regular workers who tested positive will undergo rehabilitation, and the results will still be subject to a confirmatory test by the Police Regional Office in Western Visayas.
At least 28 JO employees from BTAO and the Public Order and Safety Office tested positive for illegal drugs.
Furthermore, due to the termination of 28 traffic enforcers, Liba said BTAO now hires another batch of traffic aides.
However, he said the BTAO will be much stricter and tighter in hiring to avoid this from happening again.
Liba said that they will include drug test results as a requirement in applying for the job.
He also appealed to the public to understand them if traffic problems persist as they lack enforcers.
BTAO has around 280 traffic enforcers and 25 regular employees./MS, WDJ