MANILA — In support of President Rodrigo Duterte’s campaign against illegal drugs, a total of 554 employees of the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) voluntarily submitted themselves to a drug test, General Manager Alexander Balutan said on Tuesday.
Balutan said the drug testing was conducted on Monday and was administered to 54 employees from San Marcelino, 398 employees from the main office, and 102 from the Lung Center of the Philippines, in compliance with the Civil Service (CSC) Memorandum Circular No. 13 s. 2017 issued on April 19, 2017 where incumbent public officials and employees of government agencies and government-owned and controlled corporations (GOCCs) shall be made to undergo a “mandatory, random, and suspicionless” drug testing as a condition for retention in service.
“This is not to ‘catch’ employees who are using drugs. The random testing is to promote safety by deterring regulated employees from misusing drugs and abusing alcohol,” Balutan said in a statement.
“Apart from the anti-illegal gambling campaign, PCSO is fully and strongly supporting the President’s all-out war on drugs,” he added. (Christopher Lloyd Caliwan/PNA)
