‘HIGHEST LIDER NG BANSA, HINDI HIGH ANG LIDER NG BANSA’

Presidential aspirant Senator Ping Lacson and running mate Senate President Tito Sotto tested negative for cocaine and other drugs after undergoing voluntary testing at the PDEA headquarters on Monday.

“What we underwent was not the ordinary testing. PDEA uses a multi-drug testing kit. It can check all types of illegal drugs. Encompassing holistic drug test. Ordinary testing only checks marijuana and shabu,” Sotto said.

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 Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA).

“Dapat ang description – highest lider ng bansa, hindi high ang lider ng bansa,” he added, referring to calls for candidates in the 2022 elections to get tested for illegal drugs.

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.

Lacson said their decision to undergo a drug test was their “way of walking the talk.”

“Kasi maraming challenges, wala nang maraming salita, pumunta na lang kami rito,” Lacson told reporters in a brief interview at the PDEA lobby after he and Sotto took the test.

According to Lacson, it was Sotto who initiated to take the drug test on Monday.

Lacson and Sotto got themselves tested for drugs a few days after President Rodrigo Duterte accused a presidential aspirant of using cocaine.

While he did not give the person’s name, Duterte hinted that the aspirant comes from a well-known and rich clan, whose family name means “strong” and is known for its patriarch.