Sotto asks CSC to promote drug-free work place

SENATE Majority Floor leader Vicente “tito” Sotto III yesterday asked the Civil Service Commission (CSC) to implement a drug-free workplace in all state-run agencies and government offices nationwide.

Sotto said the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) has been implementing the policy in private workplaces, so the CSC should also do the same.

“We in government should be role models so that the private offices should follow suit,” Sotto said. "What the Supreme Court said was unconstitutional was the mandatory nature of illegal drug-testing for candidates for public office," Sotto explained.

"Public officials must set an example for the public, the youth, and those in public service for which the Civil Service Commission should take the lead. This will complement the companion program for a drug-free workplace in private offices,” he added.

Sotto was the principal author of Republic Act No. 9165, otherwise known as the "Comprehensive Drugs Act of 2002.”

To show his determination to address the threat of drug menace, Sotto last Wednesday submitted himself voluntarily to undergo illegal-drugs testing before the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency office in Quezon City.

“I believe that this is vital in assuring our people that their elected representatives are drug-free and to remove the cloud of suspicion generated by the arrest of a member of Congress for alleged drug trafficking in Hong Kong,” Sotto added.