Only 20 companies of the more than 10, 000 service-oriented establishments have complied with the prerequisite of the city’s Drug-Free Workplace Ordinance that includes orientation and training, an official said.
According to the City Anti-Drug Abuse Council (CADAC), the main implementer of the Davao City Ordinance 0506-13, service-oriented establishments are mandated to conduct mandatory random drug testing as pre-requisite for the renewal of their business permits next year and every three years after.
Service-oriented establishments include public utilities and facilities, transportation services, security services, maintenance services, lodging services, educational and social services, business services, and personal services.
“We want to avoid cramming and during the renewal, we don’t want many complaints that they were not informed,” said CADAC Technical Adviser Concepcion Domag.
Of the 20 companies, 40 personnel were trained last week for implementation of the said ordinance. Domag also said that these companies have submitted their draft company policy and three-year drug-free work plan.
“It is very important that they undergo the training first because they will be taught on the process of the random drug testing. The PDEA will speak on the process and guidelines for them to comply with the drug testing,” Domag said.
PDEA XI also said among their challenge is the limited personnel for the drug-testing hence, scheduling is necessary.
“We have to coordinate with the Department of Health (DOH) because the laboratory of PDEA could not cater all of the establishments in the city. The DOH have accredited drug testing centers so we can send a representative and let the accredited centers to conduct the testing to fast-track this,” said lawyer Ben Joseph Tesiorna, PDEA XI assistant regional director.
According to Tesiorna, there are only five PDEA chemists in the region.
Only the service-oriented establishments are required for 2019.
More than 30,000 establishments will also be required in the following years because service-oriented establishments are mandated to conduct the drug test in 2020 while product-oriented establishments are mandated to implement by 2021.
Domag said they have to implement the ordinance by phases because they could not cater to all establishments in the city at once.
