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This is AI generated summarization, which may have errors. For context, always refer to the full article.
Claim: The Supreme Court Office of the Court Administrator (OCA) issued a memorandum requiring all judges, officers, and employees of the judiciary to undergo mandatory drug testing.
Rating: FALSE
Why we fact-checked this: The claim stemmed from a Facebook post by EJ Jugalbot, who has over 21,000 followers.
The post, which has been shared over 1,100 times, cited OCA Circular No. 246-2024 as evidence of the supposed mandatory drug testing.
“[T]he Office of the Court Administrator of the Supreme Court of the Republic of the Philippines issued OCA Circular 246 series of 2024 mandating all judges, officers, and employees of the judiciary to undergo mandatory drug testing as part of their annual comprehensive physical and medical examination,” he said in the post.
Jugalbot also claims that “this is the first time in history the High Court issued such an order giving credence to the constitutionality of mandatory drug testing for all employees of government whether career, appointed, or elected.”
The facts: The Supreme Court Office of the Court Administrator did not order mandatory drug testing for all judges and employees of the judiciary.
OCA Circular No. 246-2024 released on August 14 instructs all judges and court personnel of the first and second level courts to undergo a basic annual physical examination on or before October 15, 2024. It did not require a mandatory drug test.
“Drug testing of judges, officials, and employees shall be included as part of the annual physical examination on a random basis,” item F.5 OCA Circular No. 246-2024 reads.
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Push for mandatory drug testing: The post came after Davao City 1st District Representative Paolo Duterte filed a bill requiring all elected officials and appointed officials to undergo “mandatory random” drug testing every six months.
The claim also emerged nearly a month after a deepfake video allegedly showing President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. using illegal substances circulated online, shared by pro-Duterte personalities from the group “Hakbang ng Maisug.”
Last January 28, former president Rodrigo Duterte, Paolo’s father, called Marcos a “drug addict.”
The rift between the Marcos and Duterte families has grown in recent months, highlighted by Vice President Sara Duterte’s resignation as education secretary from the Marcos Cabinet. The two were running mates in the 2022 elections under a banner of unity. – James Patrick Cruz/Rappler.com
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