Voluntary drug test for aspiring candidates

DURING the regular session of the City Council last Monday, the legislative body has approved a resolution introduced by Councilor Leandro Yangot Jr. encouraging all candidates for Sangguniang Kabataan (SK) and barangay elections in the City of Baguio to take a step forward and volunteer to undertake drug testing.

The said measure stated that in the pursuit of the City’s programs against illegal drugs and substance abuse and addiction, the City Government is making progress in combatting this narcotics problem with the help of the barangay officials thru the Barangay Anti-Drug Abuse Council (BADAC). It likewise specified that the barangay officials with the assistance of their constituents should pursue intensified and unrelenting efforts to safeguard the well-being of their community from the ill-effects of dangerous drugs which affects the youth and the future of their respective local communities.

The said resolution reported that in a press release dated March 14, 2018, the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency National Drug Information System (PDEA-NDIS) said that in the President’s narco-list, a large number of barangay officials were allegedly involved in the drug trade.

With this, the resolution quantified that it is imperative that the public be cooperative and pro-active in the President’s crusade against illegal drugs so that those who desire to be elected as barangay officials must be drug-free.