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Only 6 of 20 House members submit to drug test
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Posted on Dec 22 2011
Only six of 20 House members have submitted to voluntary drug testing two months after House Speaker Eli Cabrera (R-Saipan) asked members to do so to remove suspicion in anyone’s mind about lawmakers on the heels of Rep. Ray Palacios’ (Cov-Saipan) arrest on charges of drug trafficking.
Cabrera received yesterday a copy of Rep. Joseph Palacios’s (R-Saipan) drug test result which came back “negative.”
The speaker said he’s glad that Palacios, along with other members, volunteered to undergo drug tests. Cabrera was the first one to undergo the test, which also came back “negative.”
The four others who underwent drug test results that came back “negative” included floor leader George Camacho (Ind-Saipan), Rep. Teresita Santos (Ind-Rota), Rep. Edmund Villagomez (Cov-Saipan), and Rep. Ray Yumul (R-Saipan).
Delegate Gregorio Kilili Sablan (Ind-MP) also heeded the speaker’s call for lawmakers to undergo drug testing. Sablan’s test result also came back negative.
The House speaker said Rep. Ray Palacios has not submitted himself to drug testing.
“I talked to him about it. I called for voluntary drug testing. It will be up to the members,” he said.
Nevertheless, the speaker tasked a Special Standing Committee on Official Conduct and Ethics to investigate Rep. Raymond Palacios’ alleged drug use and to make a recommendation. Palacios stepped down as chairman of the House Committee on Education.
