Some 264 employees and 2,877 persons deprived of liberty (PDL) in four sub-colonies of the Iwahig Corrections Facility (ICF) were cleared of drug use after the results of their 2019 mandatory screen tests returned negative.
Iwahig penal farm spokesperson and corrections technical officer II Levi Evangelista said that the test was facilitated by the environmental sanitation and public health laboratory of the Palawan Provincial Health Office (PHO) on July 12 for personnel and September 3-October 23 for PDLs in Inagawan, Montible, Sta. Lucia and central sub-colony in Iwahig.
Evangelista said this only proves that accusation the ICF is manufacturing drugs is not true.
“Natutuwa si ICF sapagkat’t napaghihinalaan pa si ICF na there was a report na ang drugs ay dito mina-manufacture and source of drugs in Puerto Princesa is coming from the ICF. With this result ay talagang hindi lang namin sinasabi na walang nangyayaring ganoon sa loob, but the results accurately say na negative ‘yong agency namin sa drugs,” he said.
He said the ICF plans to get a certification from the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) that would say it is a drug-free workplace.
He said that drug testing was conducted as mandatory screening to cover the total population of employees and PDLs.
“Ngayon si ICF ay hihingi ng certificate from them to declare Iwahig as a drug-free workplace. Iyon ang gagawin na move, syempre sa PHO, para ‘yong gagawin natin ay hindi lang si ICF ang nag-declare,” he said.
