Rep. Paolo Duterte: result of my hair follicle drug test is negative
DAVAO CITY (MindaNews / 05 November) — Davao City First District Rep. Paolo “Pulong” Duterte, who is seeking a third and final term, has tested negative for illegal drugs following a hair follicle test conducted two weeks ago.
Duterte and his rival, Puwersa ng Bayaning Atleta (PBA) partylist Rep. Atty. Margarita Ignacia “Migs” B. Nograles, earlier dared each other to undergo such test to prove to Dabawenyos that they are not using illegal drugs.
The incumbent representative announced in a Facebook post Monday evening that he tested negative in a “Hair 7 Drug Panel Test.” Duterte posted a certified true copy of the drug test result, dated October 29, six days after he went to the Hi-Precision Diagnostic clinic in Mandaluyong City.
The illegal drugs tested for Duterte include amphetamine, methamphetamine (shabu), cocaine/metabolites, opiates, extended opiates, phencyclidine, THC metabolite (marijuana), and benzodiazepines.
Both Duterte and Nograles responded to each other’s dare by undergoing hair follicle drug tests on the same day, October 23, although these were conducted separately.
Duterte arrived at 12:35 p.m. at the Hi-Precision Diagnostic clinic in Mandaluyong City. Nograles was tested at the clinic’s branch in Davao City, arriving at 1:44 p.m.
Nograles has yet to release the result of her hair follicle drug test as of 6:57 a.m. on Tuesday, November 5.
Aside from Duterte and Nograles, governance, peace and development worker Maria Victoria “Mags” Maglana is also vying for the city’s first district congressional seat.
The other candidates are social worker Janeth Jabines and retired Bureau of Jail Management and Penology officer Rex Labis.
In an interview in Mandaluyong after he subjected himself to the drug test, Duterte said he does not consider Nograles and her other family members as “friends.”
“It was their father [the late House Speaker Prospero Nograles] who depicted me as an addict in 1994 or 1995,” Duterte said.
Duterte filed a bill last August 12 seeking government officials to undergo drug testing.
The measure requires “elected and appointed officials of public office, including the President of the Republic of the Philippines, to undergo random drug testing through hair follicle drug test every six months and institutionalizing voluntary random drug testing of candidates for electoral posts within 90 days prior the election day.”
Those who would test positive may be suspended or terminated, the bill stated.
Duterte is the eldest son of former President Rodrigo Duterte, who ordered a nationwide war on drugs during his term from 2016 to 2022 that turned bloody.
Government records show that at least 6,000 were killed in anti-drug operations from June 2016 until May 31, 2022, but human rights groups estimate that the death toll may be as high as 30,000. (Ian Carl Espinosa / MindaNews)
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