DEPED STARTS DRUG TESTS

THE controversy brought about by reports that 70 percent of Mandaue City's
male teachers are into drugs led the Department of Education (Deped) 7 to
conduct drug tests on teachers starting yesterday.

All male public school teachers in Mandaue City were willing to submit
themselves to a drug test at their own expense to disprove reports that a
big number of teachers in the city are drug addicts.

"We uphold the integrity of our profession," said Benjamin Tiongzon,
president of the Mandaue City Public Schools Teachers and Employees
Association.

But the earlier report quoting DepEd 7 Director Carolino Mordeno as saying
that about 70 percent of the teachers in Mandaue are drug addicts may have
just been a case of miscommunication, said Mandaue City Schools Division
Superintendent Lorna Rances.

Mordeno made the "alarming" revelation in last Friday's Kapihan with Bert
Emphasis and said the information came from Rances.

Denial

Rances, however, denied Mordeno's statement and claimed the regional
director said he might have been misquoted.

Mordeno said the matter was clarified yesterday when he presented to
representatives of Mandaue City Teachers' Organization and the Parents
Teachers Community Association a tape record of the proceedings of the
meeting with division superintendents last Oct. 5.

In that meeting, Rances reportedly divulged the information.

Slip of Tongue

"Probably it was a slip of the tongue. But if the information was wrong,
then we will correct it," Mordeno said.

He said they might even call for a press conference to present the results
of the drug tests to be "fair" to be everyone concerned.

Mordeno said DepEd 7 made initial arrangements with Vicente Sotto Memorial
Medical Center (VSMMC) on the payment for the drug tests since they are
still studying as to where to charge the expenses.

It may be charged to the maintenance and other operating expenses if they
could not find any other fund source.

Earlier yesterday, Tiongzon challenged Mordeno to come out with documents
to prove his statement. He said he has no idea why Mandaue City was singled
out of all the divisions in the region.

There are about 115 male elementary and high school teachers in Mandaue.

Rances wrote Mayor Thadeo Ouano and apologized for Mordeno's statement.

"I felt sorry for myself and for the people of Mandaue when he quoted those
figures. If I knew there were 70 percent who are users, it would have been
pointless to ask authority to use funds for drug testing," she said.

Conference

Rances explained that during an executive conference last week, she asked
Mordeno if part of the budget for maintenance and other operating expenses
could be used for drug testing of teachers suspected to be drug users.

"I may have mentioned figures but I did not think he would find it
important considering that he knows there are no available statistics to
support such claims. There is none in the Department of Education who could
say that they have raw data on such issue," she said in her letter.

"There could be speculations and suspicions but these could not be
supported by facts."

Rances further explained that she wanted to have a drug test on teachers
believed to be on drugs because of one teacher who was caught in a pot session.

Last August, the National Bureau of Investigation arrested public school
teacher Jose Regidor and two others for allegedly holding a pot session
inside a drug den in Barangay Opao, Mandaue City.