Follicle test more reliable — House

The chairman of the House committees on dangerous drugs is pushing for hair follicle tests among players in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) who are suspected to be into drugs to break the deadlock in the congressional inquiry on reported drug use in the league.

"The hair follicle test is meant to break the deadlock in the drug inquiry as the players have contested the results of the mandatory drug test," Cebu City Rep. Antonio Cuenco, committee chairman, said.

He said the hair follicle sample test is very reliable as it can detect residue of shabu (methamphetamine hydrochloride) even three to six months after the use of the illegal drug.

He said shabu may not appear in a urine sample test if one immediately abstains from using shabu and other prohibited drugs as it can be excreted from the body, depending on one’s metabolism, in several days.

During a hearing held earlier this month on the drug scandal in the PBA, players Jun Limpot and Alex Crisano of Barangay Ginebra, Dorian Peña of San Miguel, Noli Locsin, Long David and Norman Gonzales of Talk N’ Text, Davonn Harp of Batang Red Bull, Ryan Bernardo of FedEx insisted on their innocence on charges that they are drug users.

They said they have filed an appeal to contest the drug tests conducted on them by the Department of Health (DOH) and later followed by the Philippine National Police (PNP) Crime Laboratory.

The players admitted having taken various dietary supplements and medications, which may have affected the test results.

They questioned the reliability of the DOH and the PNP procedures as subsequent test conducted by private and independent laboratories yielded negative results.