Jail guard positive for drugs faces ax

A jail guard of the Mandaue City Jail’s female dormitory may face dismissal from service after testing positive for illegal drug use.

The FREEMAN is withholding the name of the jail guard pending results of the confirmatory test.

Chief Superintendent Arnold Buenacosa, director of the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology in Central Visayas, said he has ordered the relief of the officer.

Administrative case will be filed against the jail officer 1.

“Hihintayin lang po natin ang confirmatory test but surely we will be filing a case against him,” said Buenacosa.

Fourteen out of 15 BJMP personnel assigned at the city jail’s female dormitory underwent a surprise drug test yesterday morning.

All of them were tested negative, according to BJMP7 Information Officer, Chief Inspector Dennis Aliño.

One failed to submit herself to a drug test because she went to the BJMP regional office for a scheduled neuroexamination.

Jail Senior Inspector Pauline Bajar, who heads the MCJ- female dormitory, was the first one to undergo the drug test, which was conducted by the PNP Crime Laboratory in Central Visayas.

The test, she said, is done quarterly as part of their campaign against illegal drugs and internal cleansing.

Buenacosa said he will not tolerate any of his personnel to be involved in illegal drugs.

At least 79 jail personnel, including the Mandaue jail guard, from different jail facilities in the region, including Bohol, Negros Oriental and Cebu underwent a separate drug test Thursday.

“Pinapunta natin sila didto (BJMP-7), kunwari ay may meeting pagkatapos ay nag-conduct tayo ng surprise drug test. Matagal na itong policy na ito but we are intensifying it,” Buenacosa said.

Last week, several contraband items, such as illegal drugs were recovered from the Mandaue City Jail following a surprise greyhound operation conducted by PNP and BJMP-7.

Buenacosa said investigation regarding the matter is still ongoing.

Aside from the jail personnel, police also randomly picked 50 out of 177 female inmates for drug testing inside the facility.

Of the 177 female inmates, she said, 140 of them are reportedly involved in illegal drugs or facing charges for violating Republic Act 9165 or Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002.

Once tested positive for illegal drug use, the jail personnel will face administrative charges or face dismissal from service.

The inmates, on the other hand, will face additional drug charges.

Meanwhile, the incoming Sangguniang Kabataan (SK) Federation president in Cebu said he will implement programs that would help the youth veer away from bad vices, including the use of illegal drugs.

But the 18-year-old Jerico Rubio, who is set to assume office on July 2, did not give specifics about the programs.

Rubio will sit as an ex-officio member of Sangguniang Panlalawigan (SP) starting on July 2.

Aside from drug-related programs, he said, he would also lobby measures that would improve the education status of young individuals.

“Naay uban nga wala na nilantaw ba sa ilang ugma, maong gusto ko makahatag nila og pamaagi nga mofocus sila , matagaan nato sila og programa sa education,” he said.

Moreover, Rubio is in favor of conducting a mandatory drug test on high school and college students.

— Ermida Q. Moradas, Christell Fatima M. Tudtud and Le Phyllis F. Antojado/KBQ