PRESIDENTIAL aspirant and former senator Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos, Jr. on Tuesday submitted his negative drug test result to the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA).

Marcos bared to media that he underwent a drug test Monday in a hospital in Metro Manila and tested negative for illegal substance after President Rodrigo “Rody” Duterte announced that a presidential candidate was using cocaine.

“I really don’t feel that I am the one being alluded to. In spite of that, I believe it is my inherent duty as an aspiring public official to assure my fellow Filipinos that I am against illegal drugs,” said Marcos, standard-bearer of Partido Federal ng Pilipinas (PFP) who sealed an alliance with Lakas-Christian Muslim Democrats (CMD) Chairperson and vice presidential aspirant Sara Duterte for next year’s polls.

“This is why I took a cocaine test yesterday (Monday) and the result was submitted this morning (Tuesday) to the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA), the office of the Chief of the PNP (Philippine National Police) and the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI),” Marcos said.

Marcos reiterated to the public, especially the BBM-Sara Uniteam supporters that he is and will remain an anti-illegal drugs crusader.

“Let me reiterate my assurance to my fellowmen, especially to the supporters of BBM-Sara Uniteam, that I am, and will remain, a vigilant anti-illegal drugs campaigner!m” Marcos said.

Like what he did in the 2016 presidential elections, Marcos also appealed to all presidential aspirants to undergo drug test.

“And as I made the call during the 2016 election campaign, I’m calling again all elective aspirants to take the drug test to ensure our people, particularly the young generation, that no elected leader is into illegal substances,” Marcos said.

Lacson, Sotto test negative

The PDEA leadership said that submission of a urine specimen is a standard form of drug test.

On Monday, presidential aspirant, Senator Panfilo ‘Ping’ M. Lacson and his running mate, Senate President Vicente C. Sotto III both tested negative for any illegal substance after they voluntarily submitted themselves to a drug test at the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency.

The urine specimen collected from the two senators “do not contain any dangerous drugs” under Republic Act No. 9165 or the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002, according to the test results released by the PDEA.

Based on the PDEA result, the screening examination on the specimen of Lacson and Sotto gave “negative results” for the presence of methamphetamine (shabu), MDMA (ecstasy), cocaine, and tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) metabolites.

Philippine National Police (PNP) chief, General Dionardo B. Carlos also on Monday clarified that there is no order that can direct the police to conduct mandatory drug test on candidates vying for public office.

“The most that we can do is to support the suggestion for political aspirants to submit themselves to a voluntary drug test to prove to their followers and supporters that they are clean,” the top cop said.

According to the PNP chief, they will take the cue from the Commission on Elections on the possible procedural guidelines regarding the matter.

“We will be ready to facilitate, and we can use our PNP Forensic Group, but let us cross the bridge when we get there,” Carlos explained.

According to him, in case they are ordered to facilitate the conduct of the drug test, they will immediately submit the result to the requesting body. An investigation will follow if someone will test positive for drug use, he added.

Under Section 15 of Republic Act 9165 or the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002, “a person apprehended or arrested, who is found to be positive for use of any dangerous drug, after a confirmatory test, shall be imposed a penalty of a minimum of six months rehabilitation in a government center for the first offense, subject to the provisions of the law. With Alfred Dalizon