Valenzuela workers undergo mandatory drug test

THE Valenzuela City government has conducted its yearly mandatory drug test on workers that include city hall employees, policemen, firemen and jail guards.

«No one would be spared here, if any employees, policemen, firemen and members of the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology would be found positive into illegal drugs, they would surely be candidates for dismissal from the service,» Mayor Weslie Gatchalian said.

Gatchalian and Vice Mayor Lorie Natividad-Borja led the two-day procedure from September 9 to 10, at the city hall complex and CESO Action Center.

Councilor Bimbo de la Cruz, a Valenzuela Anti-Drug Abuse Office officer, said results would be known in two to three weeks.

He added that results would be treated with confidentiality, but those who would test positive could face severe sanctions, including dismissal from service.

«The random mandatory drug testing, which we do annually, is adherent with the communities' and the local government's common goal of making Valenzuela a drug-free sanctuary,» Gatchalian said.

The mayor added that the city's modern drug rehabilitation center called «Balai Banyuhay» (house of metamorphosis) aims to give drug users new hope and transform them into useful members of society.