SC Issues Implementing Guidelines of Judiciary’s Drug-Free Policy
The Guidelines takes effect immediately after its publication in a newspaper of general circulation on September 17, 2023.Under the Guidelines, drug testing will be required as part of the pre-employment requirement in the Judiciary.
Court employees shall also be subjected to a random mandatory drug test during the course of their employment in the Judiciary.
Employees found positive for dangerous drug use shall be dealt with administratively, and such finding shall be a ground for suspension or termination, subject to the provisions of the Civil Service Law and A.M. No. 21-08-09-SC or the Further Amendments to Rule 140 of the Rules of Court.
The Guidelines also seeks to enhance awareness about the use, abuse, and adverse effects of dangerous drugs among the Judiciary’s officials and employees through information dissemination and periodic random drug testing. It also aims to institute other measures that address drug abuse among judicial employees.
The Guidelines applies to all officials or personnel of the Judiciary, regardless of status of appointment, who are employed at the Supreme Court, the Court of Appeals, the Sandiganbayan, the Court of Tax Appeals, and the first- and second-level courts under the direct supervision of the Office of the Court Administrator.
The Guidelines likewise covers employees in the Judicial and Bar Council, Judicial Integrity Board, Philippine Judicial Academy, Office of the Judiciary Marshals, Mandatory Continuing Legal Office, and all other offices placed under the supervision of the Supreme Court.
Other workers detailed or working in the courts such as security and janitorial services personnel hired through service contracts as well as employees detailed as members of the Senate Electoral Tribunal and House of Representatives Electoral Tribunal are also subject to the Guidelines. (Courtesy of the Supreme Court Public Information Office)
Full text of the Resolution in A.M. No. 23-02-11-SC (Guidelines for the Implementation of a Drug-Free Policy in the Judiciary, April 18, 2023) at: https://sc.judiciary.gov.ph/23-02-11-sc-guidelines-for-the-implementation-of-a-drug-free-policy-in-the-philippine-judiciary/ [Supreme Court of the Philippines. Supreme Court Issues Implementing Guidelines of Judiciary’s Drug-Free Policy - Supreme Court of the Philippines. Last accessed on September 18, 2023.]
