CHR vows rights protection amid posting of ‘drug-free’ stickers in Barangay Commonwealth

The Commission on Human Rights (CHR) on Wednesday said it will send an investigation team in Barangay Commonwealth, Quezon City after barangay officials posted "drug-free" stickers on the houses of their constituents.

"This house-to-house caravan, when left unchecked, may transgress a number of rights protected by laws and the Constitution," CHR spokesperson Atty. Jacqueline Ann de Guia said in a statement.

"As such, we shall be sending an investigation team to ensure the protection of the rights of all and possibly guide the officials of Barangay Commonwealth given other allegations of human rights violation in the past," she added.

The CHR said that while it recognizes the initiative of the local government to solve the problem of illegal drug use, officials must observe "proper standards and process in identifying drug-free households" so as not to compromise the safety and reputation of suspected drug users.

"If local officials are confident of their evidence, then proper cases should be filed so violators can be made accountable before our laws," it said.

On Wednesday, the local officials of Barangay Commonwealth launched the anti-illegal drugs strategy, drawing concerns from some residents.

The controversial stickers bear the phrase "Towards a drug-free barangay" and are posted on the houses of residents who have undergone the free drug test offered by the barangay.

The CHR said the Supreme Court considers mandatory drug testing as a violation of the right to privacy and the right against self-incrimination or testifying against oneself.

It added that the Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002 prescribes that warranted drug tests must only be conducted by "government forensic laboratories or by any of the drug testing laboratories accredited and monitored by the Department of Health to safeguard the quality of test results." — RSJ, GMA News