THE MANILA Health Department has agreed to relax the requirements to obtain the mandatory health certificate, including lifting the restriction against tests conducted outside the city’s public health laboratory, a labor group reported.
In a statement on Sept. 10, the Organisasyon ng Nagkakaisang Empleyado ng UST (ONE-UST) reported the results of a meeting between labor unions and the Manila Health Department led by its chief, Dr. Arnold “Poks” Pangan, on Sept. 9.
ONE-UST said the health department had agreed to accept laboratory test results from facilities selected by private schools, instead of requiring workers to undergo testing at the city’s public health laboratory.
The city-owned laboratory, situated at the former location of the Sta. Cruz Public Library on Alvarez Street, had faced criticism in recent months for its “filthy” conditions.
“It demonstrates that well-informed collective action, rooted in workers’ solidarity, leads to positive outcomes,” ONE-UST said. “It has been proven that unjust, oppressive, or unreasonable laws and policies are changed not through blind compliance or complicity, but through critical dialogue and resistance.”
Current employees will no longer be required to undergo mandatory drug testing, although they may still be subjected to random screening. New job applicants in schools will be required to undergo drug testing.
Unions earlier pointed out that City Ordinance 8793, which requires all workers to obtain the health certificate yearly, contradicted existing drug laws. The Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002 and Department of Labor and Employment Order 53-03 issued in 2003 require only random drug testing.
Schools must submit summary documents to the Manila Health Department, signed by a health authority, including employees’ laboratory exam results and drug testing compliance reports, ONE-UST said.
The Manila Health Department is expected to issue a new memorandum to formalize the changes, according to the labor coalition.
“Importantly, the [Manila Health Department] also committed to engaging in regular dialogue not only with school management but also with workers’ representatives on issues affecting them,” ONE-UST said.
The Sept. 9 dialogue was attended by Manila sanitation chief Manny Taguba, Councilor Louisito Chua of the city’s fourth district and the principal author of City Ordinance 8793, and Pangan.
Also present were Asst. Prof. Rene Tadle, ONE-UST spokesperson and president of the Arts and Letters Faculty Association, and Educational Industry Tripartite Council representatives.
On the same day, UST Rector Fr. Richard Ang, O.P. ended the debate on whether the University should comply with Manila’s health certificate requirement, saying in the maiden speech of his second term that UST would support it. Amador Denzel M. Teston
