BY EUGENE Y.ADIONG
MURCIA, Negros Occidental – Mayor Andrew Montelibano and 258 town officials and employees tested negative for illegal drugs. Ten municipal employees, however, turned positive.
In a press conference at his office yesterday, Montelibano showed the results of the drug tests conducted by Delta Heritage Drug Testing Center on 268 elected officials and employees of the Murcia municipal government.
Of the 10 positive employees, one was a woman. Two were found positive for marijuana while eight tested positive for shabu.
The 10 were all regular employees at the municipal hall.
Montelibano declined to identify the 10 pending the results of confirmatory tests by the Department of Health (DOH).
As of now, Montelibano said, he cannot impose sanctions on the 10 employees.
“I have to wait for the DOH confirmation,” he stressed.
Montelibano said he won’t hesitate to fire the 10 should the confirmatory tests find them positive for illegal drugs indeed.
His administration does not tolerate municipal employees hooked on illegal drugs, he stressed.
Montelibano said the concerned employees were already informed of the results and he had talked to their families.
Montelibano said drug tests should be done by all local government units.
“In Murcia, we are serious in our advocacy against illegal drugs,” Montelibano said.
He denied being lax in this particular campaign.
Montelibano and the town’s priests, Fr. Greg Patino and Fr. Agustin Hinayan are at odds. Just this Sunday, Patino declared he will ban Montelibano and members of the Sanggunian Bayan from receiving the sacraments.
The mayor has called the move “the work of the demon.”/PN
