Vice-president Sara Duterte-Carpio said she was willing to take a hair follicle drug test to prove that she was not taking any kind of illegal drug like shabu or cocaine.
This was a clear dig at President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., who has long been rumored to be a cocaine user, which former president Rodrigo Duterte cited on several occasions.
The former president and Sara’s father even dared Marcos Jr. to take a drug test together in a public place like the Rizal Park in the capital city of Manila.
Sara said she was willing to take the test in response to requests from various quarters that she undergo such a procedure.
Former Duterte spokesperson Harry Roque urged the VP and her brothers, Davao Rep. Paolo Duterte and Davao City Mayor Baste Duterte, to “lead by example” and take the drug test.
The Vice-president said: “I have already read the appeal of the people. We will just finalize when it will be conducted because there should be a third party involved in the testing. And not just one laboratory, so we can ensure that the result is validated.”
The details should be ironed out by those calling for the test, she added.
The VP also said she supports the proposed bill filed by her brother Paolo, which would require all government officials, including the President, to undergo mandatory random drug testing.
Speaking to local media in Davao City last week, Duterte said: “First of all, we have to be sure that our public officials are in the right frame of mind, including me.”
Under Rep. Duterte’s House Bill number 10744, all elected and appointed government officials must undergo random drug tests using hair follicle samples every six months.
The bill also seeks to institutionalize voluntary drug testing of candidates for electoral posts within 90 days prior to elections.
It also states that any official found positive for illegal drug use shall be dealt with administratively, which will be a ground for suspension or termination from office, subject to pertinent laws.
Rep. Duterte’s proposed bill aligns with former president Rodrigo Duterte, under whose administration the government waged a brutal drug war that saw thousands of mostly young Filipino men being killed.
The elder Duterte made his drug war the centerpiece of his regime and it drew widespread support criticism, both domestically and globally.
The International Criminal Court, however, has been investigating the former president for alleged wholesale human rights abuses that began when he was Davao City mayor.
Political observers say Sara Duterte-Carpio’s support for her brother’s bill is consistent with the family’s political branding as being tough on crime, especially illegal drugs.
Others say the VP’s call for a drug test is her latest challenge to the administration of President Marcos, potentially reviving allegations of the latter’s drug use. It further deepened the rift between the country’s two highest officials, who ran together in the last elections on their so-called “Unity ticket.”
It can be noted that just as former Duterte spokesperson Roque called for the VP to take a drug test, it was also Marcos’s former spokesman and executive secretary Victor Rodriguez who has been calling for the President to take the hair follicle test, in particular.
Marcos has generally ignored calls for him to take any kind of drug test after he showed results early in his presidency indicating that he had tested negative for drug use.