Inmates and personnel of the Quezon City jail were tested for drugs yesterday as part of President Rodrigo Duterte’s ongoing war on drugs.
The Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP), Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA), and the city government conducted the tests initially on 914 inmates and 159 jail personnel.
The Quezon City jail has 4,751 inmates. Superintendent Ermilito Moral, jail warden, stressed the importance of having “both the detainees and the city jail officials comply with PDEA.
“Conducting a regular drug test programme here in Quezon City jail will let everyone know that the president is very firm on his programme about his war against drugs,” Moral told Manila Times.
Detainees and police officials who test positive for illegal drug use will be sent to the Quezon City Drug Treatment and Rehabilitation Center or “Tahanan”. Officials will automatically be removed from their positions.
“If a personnel turns out to be an illegal drug user, he or she will be subjected for confirmation, the personnel may also be subjected to administrative cases and will be asked to undergo rehabilitation sessions in ‘Tahanan’,” Moral said. The tests started at 9am with 10 PDEA representatives present during the activity.
The results may be released in October, Moral said.
Inmates queue to participate in a drug test at the Quezon City jail in suburban Manila, yesterday.
