MANILA — During the budget hearing for the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency’s (PDEA) proposed P3.8 billion budget for 2025, Sen. Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa questioned whether a hair follicle test could be conducted on someone who is bald.
PDEA Director General Moro Virgilio Lazo clarified that hair from other body parts could be used.
“Puwede yung hair sa ilong, hair sa genitals?” Dela Rosa asked.
(Can you use nose hair or hair on the genitals?)
“Puwede lahat (You can use anything),” Lazo confirmed.
However, PDEA noted that they are currently not equipped to perform hair follicle drug tests and are still working on developing the process.
In response to a query about the detection period for drug use through hair testing, PDEA Laboratory Service Acting Director Angela Salvador stated, “The standard period for detection of drugs in hair varies, but the average is 90 days.”
For comparison, methamphetamine or shabu use can be detected in urine tests within a span of two to five days.
Hair follicle testing has recently been a topic of discussion after critics of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., including former President Rodrigo Duterte, suggested he undergo such a test to address rumors of drug use.
These allegations surfaced again following the screening of a video by Duterte supporters abroad, which claimed to show a man resembling Marcos engaging in drug use.
Authorities, including the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) and the Department of Information and Communications Technology, have dismissed the video as fake.