TACLOBAN CITY– The Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP) in Borongan City conducted a drug test on all of its personnel including persons deprived of liberty (PDLs) who are under their jurisdiction.
The drug test was conducted on January 4 by the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) and the City Health Office, subjecting 27 BJMP personnel and 67 PDLs.
Borongan City Jail Warden Jail S/Inspector Neal Ana said that the conduct of the drug test was in support to the Department of Interior and Local Government program Buhay Ingatan, Droga’y Ayawan (BIDA).
Ana added that they are only required to conduct random drug tests on 10 percent of the total PDLs under their care but they instead decided to subject all to drug tests.
“We decided to subject all to a drug test to avoid any speculation that we are only selected individuals and that we are only doing this out of script,” she said.
“This would help us secure a certification that our facility and workplace is drug-free and in the process, help the aim of the city government to make Borongan drug-free,” Ana added.
The BJMP official added that they are the first jail facility in Eastern Samar province to conduct drug tests this New Year because of the strong support of the city government headed by Mayor Jose Ivan Dayan Agda to make Borongan a drug-cleared and a drug-free area.
The drug test shows that all employees and PDLs in Borongan City Jail were negative for using illegal substances.
(ROEL T. AMAZONA)
