MANILA, Philippines — Local Government Secretary Jonvic Remulla refunded Isabela Vice Mayor Jeryll Harold Respicio the P28,000 he paid for his drug test in response to a challenge by the secretary amid an altercation with barangay officials that was caught on video.
In his reply, Remulla said, “Eto na. Happy?” (Here. Happy now?) along with the attached screenshot of his refund sent via GCash. The screenshot showed the payment was P28,011 which was exactly the amount Respicio requested.
Respicio’s post was a screenshot of his QR code where Remulla was supposed to send the refund.
(Screen grab from Remulla’s reply to Respicio’s Facebook post)
In another post, Respicio said he only used the QR code and not his personal number because the secretary might text him.
(Screen grab from Respicio’s Facebook post)
After Respicio posted his negative results, Remulla congratulated him but still insisted that he was out of his mind.
On Wednesday, Remulla voiced dismay over Respicio’s behavior, calling on the vice mayor to undergo a drug test following an "unacceptable" display of behavior during a Sangguniang Bayan session when he accused barangay captains of being 'thieves in government.”
“Now that it's confirmed that he's not on shabu, totoo na talaga na natural ang sayad ng utak niya (then it's true that he's crazy)," Remulla said.
