PDEA vs reimbursement of drug testing costs

ROXAS City – Barangay captains in Capiz were still waiting for the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) Region 6 to set the schedule for their mandatory drug testing.

The provincial Liga ng mga Barangay asked the PDEA to shoulder the drug testing costs first and it would reimburse the amount later, but the agency was not amenable to this, said Sangguniang Panlalawigan (SP) secretary Zoe Herrera.

Writing Regional Director Gil Pabilona on May 11, the Liga requested the PDEA to “prepare the necessary materials, medicines and medical equipment to be used in the drug testing, subject to reimbursement,” Herrera said.

But the PDEA refused, citing “experiences when the agency was accused of receiving fees.” Hence, the Liga will have to shoulder all the drug testing expenditures, Herrera told this reporter.