Vice President Sara Duterte has expressed her support for the proposed bill by her brother, Davao Representative Paolo Duterte, which seeks to mandate random drug tests for all elected and appointed government officials, including the president.
“Yes, of course. First and foremost, we need to ensure that all our public officials, including myself, are of sound mind,” Vice President Duterte said during an ambush interview on Thursday.
Rep. Duterte’s House Bill 10744 proposes the use of hair follicle samples for the random drug tests. Should an individual test positive, a confirmatory urine drug test would follow. The bill also allows candidates for electoral positions to voluntarily undergo a hair follicle drug test within 90 days prior to the elections.
Vice President Duterte also revealed that she has agreed to the public’s request for her to take a drug test. “I’ve seen the calls from the people, and we’re working on when it will happen. There should be a third party involved in the testing, and more than one laboratory should validate the results. Let’s do the drug test,” she stated.
The discussion comes against the backdrop of accusations of drug use exchanged between former President Rodrigo Duterte, the father of the Duterte siblings, and his successor, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., although neither side has provided evidence for these claims.
Since resigning from President Marcos’ Cabinet in June, Vice President Duterte has missed his State of the Nation Address and voiced criticism of the government’s flood management efforts.