LEAD by example! That’s the challenge posed by former Executive Secretary Vic Rodriguez to government officials today.
Especially to his former boss and friend, President Ferdinand Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr.
The challenge? To undergo a credible drug test.
In fact, Rodriguez himself underwent a drug test even though he was in the private sector to establish transparency.
“It’s simple, easy to conclude. If you want, even add an exclamation point, right? Just undergo a credible drug examination,” Atty. Vic Rodriguez, Former Executive Secretary of President Marcos Jr. stated.
Rodriguez issued the challenge after a recent release by political vlogger Maharlika of a copy of the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency or PDEA operations report linking Marcos Jr. to a 2012 anti-drug operation.
Marcos Jr. is being implicated for allegedly using cocaine.
Former President Rodrigo Roa Duterte himself stated that from then until now, the current president of the country is high on drugs.
The PDEA has labeled the said report as false.
“Undergo a credible and acceptable drug examination. If someone is wrong, they shouldn’t stay silent about it. Right? We can’t have fake, it’s fake. Oh, because of this, because of that, then get tested,” Rodriguez.
Meanwhile, Rodriguez clarified that he was not with Marcos Jr. when he underwent a drug test in 2021 as a candidate in the elections.
He only received the result of the drug test and presented it to government agencies involved in illegal drugs.
The 2021 drug test of Marcos Jr. is being questioned due to the speed of obtaining results, which allegedly took only two minutes.
“No, I was not with him when he subjected himself to the drug test. I have answered this many times in the past. Now, what I have is the result. Yes, the result was handed to me. And yes, I was his lawyer, I was his spokesperson, I was his Chief of Staff. So, of course, I will have to defend him,” added Rodriguez.
And now, as the public demands Marcos Jr. to undergo another drug test, Rodriguez is advocating for a hair follicle test.
“I agree. Because when you do a drug test using a test kit or urine, there might be questions about whether that’s your urine… Maybe you drank—although there’s no scientific explanation, I’m just sharing—that maybe you drank a gallon of coconut water—washout, etc. So, to end this, let’s use the most scientifically reliable method, which is the hair follicle test for those in government,” he stressed.
