Belmonte leads colleagues in another round of drug tests

House Speaker Feliciano Belmonte Jr. on Tuesday led lawmakers in another round of voluntary drug tests. A total of 56 out of the 284 House members underwent voluntary drug testing organized by the House committee on dangerous drugs and the Department of Health (DOH). “I am very confident of the people here. I think we will have 100 percent testing. Let me just emphasize that this is voluntary testing. Although this is allowed under our rules, it is still voluntary," he told reporters after he underwent the test Tuesday afternoon. Belmonte said he is hoping the chamber will be “drug free" after one of its members, former Ilocos Sur Rep. Ronald Singson, resigned last month after being sentenced to 18 months imprisonment in Hong Kong due to a drug-related case there. Belmonte said it will be the House leadership who will inform the congressman who tests positive for drugs, but added that the results will “not be immediately" made public. Earlier this month, three lawmakers went to the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) office in Quezon City to undergo voluntary drug tests. Under Rule IV, Section 15 of the current Congress, the House Speaker, “in consultation with the Minority Leader, shall develop through the appropriate entity of the House a system for drug testing in the House of Representatives." The current House rules also state that that the drug testing may cover “any member, officer or employee of the House," and “may be paid from applicable accounts of the House for official expenses." - Andreo Calonzo/KBK, GMA News