In a show of strong support to the move to have workplaces that are free from illegal drugs, some 17 heads of government agencies submitted themselves to a voluntary drug testing during the launching of the Drug-Free Workplace Initiative of the Regional Development Council (RDC) 2 and the Regional Peace and Order Council (RPOC) 2.

Held on June 23, 2016 at the newly-constructed Cagayan Valley Integrated Agricultural Laboratory Building of the Department of Agriculture at the Regional Government Center, the launching was the highlight of the joint meeting of the RDC 2 and the RPOC 2 for the second quarter of the year.

According to RDC 2 Acting Chair Dir. MaryAnne ER. Darauay, this initiative “is the strategy of both Councils to promote a safe and healthy working environment in each government office and in the entire public service in general.”

Aside from the 17 regional directors or assistant regional directors who took the drug test, six of the twelve private sector representatives of the RDC 2 also participated.

Dir. Darauay, the Regional Director of the NEDA Regional Office 2, added that the Drug-Free Workplace Initiative was borne out of the report presented by the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) in March that the use of dangerous drugs is still very rampant in the region.

“It is very alarming to hear that almost one-fourth of the total 2,311 barangays in the whole region is affected with drugs and that almost 1,800 of our people are identified as drug personalities,” Dir. Darauay stated.

“It is for this reason that the RDC 2 and the RPOC 2 are jointly reinforcing the presence of drug-free workplaces in Region 2,” the RDC 2 Acting Chair averred. “We believe that by setting a good example for our colleagues in public service, we will be able to encourage and influence them to join us in the fight against illegal drugs.”

Together with Dir. Darauay during the launching of the Drug-Free Workplace Initiative were RPOC 2 Head Secretariat and Department of the Interior and Local Government Regional Director John M. Castañeda and PDEA Regional Director Derrick Arnold C. Carreon.

“As called for by Republic Act No. 9165, the promotion of drug-free workplaces should be a nationwide program and should be adopted by both government and private sectors,” Dir. Carreon stated.

The Philippine National Police Crime Laboratory administered the drug testing to the members of the RDC 2 and the RPOC 2 who expressed their voluntary commitment to it.#