Mandaue City worker tested positive for drug use

ONE of the 111 government employees tested positive during the second round of random drug tests at the Mandaue City Hall on Wednesday, Nov. 20, 2019.

City Councilor Nerissa Soon-Ruiz said the worker’s sample will undergo a confirmatory test.

Ruiz, focal person of the City Anti-Drug Abuse Council (Cadac), said the employee will not be dismissed from service outright or sent to jail.

“If there is a need to help the person through our recovery center, then we will offer help,” Ruiz said in a mix of Cebuano and English.

The employees who underwent the Wednesday drug test were chosen by a computer, which randomly selected 3,000 names of workers of

City Hall and national offices.

The selected employees were called from their offices to undergo the drug test, but 14 of them did not show up.

Ruiz said these 14 workers must explain their absence. She refused to comment that these workers are hooked on illegal drugs as they still have to undergo assessment.

The councilor said employees who took medications and vitamins should not worry if they stated these in the form.

To promote drug-free workplaces in the city, the Cadac will tap the Mandaue City Chamber of Commerce and Industry to encourage regular drug testing in private companies.