DAVAO CITY – Mayor Rodrigo Duterte said he wants a “summary hearing” on cops who initially tested positive on illegal drug use so that he can kick him out of the Philippine National Police sooner.
This was the mayor’s reaction following the case of a Bunawan police officer who tested positive for illegal drug use on Wednesday.
The police, who is reportedly 18 years in service, is given 15 days to contest the initial results.
Duterte wondered why there is need for a confirmatory test.
“After 15 days or what, there are chemicals which you can clean it off from your body. So by the time you re-validate the previous exam, basin mawala na (maybe it has been washed off),” Duterte said during his weekly program Gikan sa Masa, Para sa Masa on Sunday.
Duterte said he “hopes” confirmatory tests are not done because he would only grow suspicious of the police man.
“If something different would result in reexamination, i-assign didto sa Comval kay dihang NPA diha. Kamong NPA saloha nang ingon anang klase nga pulis, ayaw mo pagpaabot nako kay di pod nako na lukaton gyud (If something different would result in reexamination, have him assigned in [Compostela Valley] where there are a lot of New People’s Army. And if you NPA’s get these kinds of police (as prisoners of war), don’t expect me to be there to receive him because I will not),” he said.
Duterte said “you can really be positive with only one examination.
“Why perform a validation test to look for a different result?” he said.
Davao City Police Office spokesperson Senior Inspector Milgrace Driz said they respect the mayor’s comment but they are “only following due process.”
Driz cited PNP Memorandum Circular No. 2012-006 dated June 8, 2012 which is the policy involving the conduct of Mandatory Random Drug Test and drug test of the PNP uniformed personnel involved in drugs.
“This is a Memorandum Circular from the national headquarters which we have to follow,” Driz told Davao Today on Sunday.
Paragraph A No. 3 of the circular states that “found positive during the screening test, the PNP personnel have the right to challenge the result of the screening test upon receipt of the result through a confirmatory test conducted by any of the testing laboratories accredited and monitored by the Department of Health or by the National Reference Laboratory (NRL) provided that said laboratory has just chromatograph mass spectrometer for high performance frequency chromatography mass spectrometer equipment and other similar equipment to ensure the result that is free from human intervention and provided further that the same specimen submitted for random mandatory test which the PNP personnel were found positive shall be brought personally by the examiner on case to witness the challenge.”
Driz said that if the personnel would want to challenge the result he will bring it to the NRL in Manila, “but if he will not, we will wait for 15 days grace period.”
“Afterwhich a confirmatory drug test will be conducted at any laboratory here,” Driz said adding that the SOCO will bring the personnel to the regional office of the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency to be examined.
Driz said the cost of the confirmatory test shall be paid by the challenging party.
The Implementing Rules and Regulations (IRR) of the Republic Act 9165 or the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002, article 1 section 3 defines (i.) confirmatory tests as “an analytical test using a device, tool or equipment with a different chemical or physical principle that is more specific which will validate and confirm the result of the screening test. It refers to the second or further analytical procedure to more accurately determine the presence of dangerous drugs in specimen.”
Driz said the Bunawan policeman is the second one who was found positive on drugs since the DCPO under chief of police, Sr. Supt Vicente Danao, ordered the conduct of surprise random drug test among DCPO personnel.
On February 9, SPO1 Librado Nalzaro, Jr. of the Mobile Patrol Group was found positive for drug use.
Duterte reiterated his warning to cops involved in drug trade.
“Kamong mga pulisa mo bantay mo ha, giingnan tamo basta naa mo diha sa droga modula mo anang sindikato sa droga, mauna gyud mo. I will see to it nga mauna mo, so ayaw ko ninyo bola bolahi, palusut-lusoti because I would know. Pasundan ta lang kag NICA o ISAFP. Ayaw kog bolaha kay makahibaw gyud ko sa tinuod. Then pag-abot sa panahon magmahayay ta (You policemen should watch out. I already told you if you enter drug trade you will have to go. I will see to it that you are not allowed to remain so don’t play with me because I would know. I can order the [National Intelligence Coordination Agency] or the [Intelligence Service of the Armed Forces of the Philippines]),” Duterte said. (davaotoday.com)
Related story: http://davaotoday.com/main/politics/shabu-positive-cop- to-undergo-anothertest/
