Dear PAO,

Last December 2025, my husband and his friends were apprehended for alleged use of prohibited drugs. He was, then, charged with the violation of Republic Act 9165 or the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002, but the same was dismissed.

As he is a government employee, he was also administratively charged with grave misconduct for alleged illegal drug use. Recently, we received a decision from his office stating that he is guilty of grave misconduct and is dismissed from service. May a public employee be dismissed outright for being found positive with illegal drugs?

Alexie

Dear Alexie,

To answer your query, it is necessary to determine whether a public employee’s use of prohibited drugs constitute a grave offense which warrants the penalty of outright dismissal from government service. Accordingly, it is worthy to revisit the provisions of Republic Act (RA) 9165 and pertinent civil service rules to ascertain the intent of the law with regard to illegal drug use.

Contrary to popular belief that illegal drug users must be punished, RA 9165 seeks the offenders’ rehabilitation, treatment, and reintegration into society as a priority. In fact, the legislation treats such persons as having been afflicted with sickness which must be transformed and rehabilitated rather than violators who must be castigated, as articulated in Section 2 of the law.

Moreover, the Civil Service Commission (CSC), through its Memorandum Circular 13, Series of 2017, in prescribing the guidelines in the mandatory random drug testing of public officials and employees, focuses on treating drug addiction instead of punishing it as an offense, to wit:

“VI. INTERVENTIONS

“1. Public officials and employees who are found positive of dangerous drugs at the first instance… shall undergo Drug Dependency Examination…

“2. A public official or employee found to be an Experimenter shall shoulder the expenses of his/her guidance counselling. The same rule shall also apply to a public official or employee found to be an Occasional User…

“3. Any public official or employee found to be a Chronic User/Drug Dependent, based on the results of the Drug Dependency Examination, and who will undergo a mandatory rehabilitation program for a minimum period of six months shall be considered on sick leave for the entire period of his/her rehabilitation.”

Hence, neither of the above legislation and directive recommend the drug user’s immediate dismissal from service, once found positive with the use of illegal drugs.

Further, in Carlito P. Salomon vs. The City Government of Muntinlupa, (G.R. No. 260742, 20 May 2025; Ponente: Honorable Senior Associate Justice Marvic M.V.F. Leonen) the Supreme Court had the occasion to rule that before a public officer or employee may be dismissed from service on charges of drug use, he/she must have first undertaken treatment or rehabilitation as a prerequisite. It is the employee’s refusal to undergo the treatment or rehabilitation, that makes him/her administratively liable for grave misconduct. To wit:

“Testing positive for drugs is still a grave misconduct, but given the subject policy, it should be treated differently from other acts constituting or counting as grave misconduct in a way that dismissal will not be outright but could still be imposed on the first offense, subject to the public official or employee’s submission to intervention and dedication to its entailed recovery process.”

Applying the foregoing to your husband’s case, he should not be immediately dismissed from employment upon a finding of positive use of illegal drugs. Instead, his case should first be evaluated and referred for appropriate intervention in accordance with CSC Memorandum Circular 13, Series of 2017.

We hope that we were able to answer your queries. This advice is solely based on the facts you have narrated and our appreciation of the same. Our opinion may vary when other facts are changed or elaborated.

Thank you for your continued trust and support.