DFA Holds its 1^st Webinar on Drug-Free Workplace Policies and Programs

Participants from the various DFA Home Office units and Consular Offices nationwide

PASAY CITY, 11 February 2021 – Consistent with its commitment to a drug-free work environment, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA), through its Drug-Free Workplace Assessment Committee (DWAC) and in partnership with the Dangerous Drugs Board (DDB), held its first-ever webinar on drug-free workplace policies and programs.

Slated as the first of a series of initiatives by the DFA’s Drug-Free Workplace Assessment Committee for 2021, the project recognized the importance of education and awareness programs in creating a safe and productive work environment and preventing illicit drug use and dependence among employees. More than 70 participants representing various DFA Home Office units and Consular Offices nationwide attended the webinar.

DFA Undersecretary for Civilian Security and Consular Affairs, Brigido J. Dulay, in his welcome remarks, compared workplace policies and programs on drug use to a “social vaccine” that could prevent drug dependency and significantly contribute to the efforts of various government agencies to address the prevalence of illegal drugs.

Guest speakers included DDB Undersecretary Benjamin P. Reyes, who discussed the ill effects of drug use in the workplace, its detection, and possible interventions. Atty. Philip Josef T. Vera Cruz, Chief of the DDB’s Legal Division, shared the salient features of the DDB’s Board Regulation No. 13, Series of 2018, which seeks to establish and institutionalize Drug-Free Workplace Policies in all government offices, including the conduct of authorized drug testing for public officials, as well as sanctions against violators.

To cap off the webinar, Undersecretary for Administration, J. Eduardo Malaya, stressed that spreading awareness and information was an effective deterrent to illicit drug use. He shared that in 2019, the DFA randomly tested 200 employees, all of whom tested negative.

The DFA’s Drug-Free Workplace Policy was established in 2019. Its implementing arm, the DFA-DWAC, is co-chaired by the Undersecretary for Civilian Security and Consular Affairs and Undersecretary for Administration. END

Speakers of the 1^st Webinar on the Drug-Free Workplace Policies and Programs. (DFA-OUCSCA)