DOH, LTO sign pact to rid fake drug testing centers of fixers

The Department of Health (DOH) and the Land Transportation Office (LTO) yesterday signed an agreement that seeks to eliminate fake drug testing centers and do away with fixers. Nick Lutero, a lawyer from the DOH said the department is set to implement a circular that will sanction laboratories using fixers for drug testing. There are currently 1,000 drug testing centers in the country with 72 of them government-owned and retained facilities. Under the circular, Lutero said a suspension order will be enforced against guilty laboratories for first offense; a second one will result to cancellation of license; and eventual closure for continued violations. Last year, 200 hospitals were sanctioned by the DOH and 30 of them were ordered closed for constant violations. The DOH-LTO partnership seeks to establish a shared database between the two agencies in a move to purge the mandatory drug testing for drivers of fraudulent schemes. DOH Undersecretary Jade del Mundo also announced that the cost of testing in government hospitals will be reduced from P200 to P180 to “give the drivers some relief to the already high prices of fuel and basic commodities." According to the DOH, there are 3.45 million Filipinos who were tested for illegal drugs use in 2005 and 3,607 of them were found positive for methamphetamine hydrochloride locally known as shabu. Metro Manila posted the highest rate of confirmed users with 1,943 followed by Regions 6 and 3. Health officials are also mulling on the idea of conducting random drug testing among drivers to ensure that authorities get the right results.-GMANews.TV