Sotto urges Escudero to conduct mandatory random drug testing in Senate after alleged marijuana use inside premises
Sen. Tito Sotto wrote a letter to Senate President Chiz Escudero calling for mandatory random drug testing in the Senate.
This comes after reports of alleged marijuana use within the Senate premises, particularly on the building's fifth floor.
"To maintain a drug free workplace, I am asking that a mandatory random drug testing be immediately conducted in the Senate in accordance with the pertinent policy order in place," Sotto stated in the letter on Aug. 17.
"This will ensure that the morale, efficiency, integrity, responsiveness, progressiveness and courtesy shall be observed in the civil service."
Senators Migz Zubiri and Joel Villanueva have also shown support for mandatory random drug tests.
Zubiri told dwIZ on Aug. 16 that his whole office, including himself, would undergo random drug testing.
"Gumagawa kami ng batas at gusto po ng taumbayan ay 'yung gumagawa ng batas ay hindi lumalabag ng batas," he said.
In a statement on Aug. 14, Senate Secretary Atty. Renato Bantug said that the Office of the Sergeant-At-Arms has submitted a report to Sen. Robin Padilla's office on a staffer allegedly smoking a joint on Senate grounds.
According to a Senate incident report, actress Nadia Montenegro, Padilla's political affairs officer, was the only person in the area when one of Sen. Ping Lacson's staffers noticed the odor coming from the ladies' restroom. Montenegro denied this, but admitted to having a vape, which she said might have caused the unusual odor.
Padilla's office launched its own investigation, according to the senator's chief of staff Atty. Rudolf Philip Jurado. Meanwhile, OSAA said it will implement random drug testing among Senate employees. Jurado also asked Montenegro to do a drug test, though the actress is reportedly in talks with a lawyer.
