A TOP official of the Roads and Traffic Administration (RTA) said all of its personnel will be subjected to random drug tests anytime soon.
Lawyer Jose Edgardo Uy, RTA chief, said the random drug testing is an old plan of the RTA management that was never realized due to budget constraints.
"Karon ato na gyud siyang buhaton, unya dili lang ni random testing nga pipila lang, kundili tawgon gyud nato sila tanan. Walay gasto ang mga personahe kay budget man sa RTA office kuhaon ang expenses sa random drug tests (Now we're going to do this, and it's random drug testing for all. They won't spend anything because the expenses of the random drug tests is shouldered by the RTA office)," Uy said.
It can be recalled that last January 25, a traffic enforcer and a pregnant woman were nabbed in a drug bust in the city.
The Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA)-Northern Mindanao identified the suspects as Fahd Aber Saab, an active member of the RTA, and Jaminah Casir, who is two months pregnant.
PDEA-Northern Mindanao officials recovered P250, 000 and 50 grams of suspected methamphetamine hydrochloride or “shabu” during the said operation.
City Councilor Romeo Calizo, chair of the police, fire, and public safety said in an interview that he wants the random drug test to be "intelligence-aided," meaning he wants a pre-identified list of names of the traffic enforcers who are allegedly using the illegal substance.
Calizo said without this, the drug test would be useless.
