Get shabu tested for coronavirus? PDEA deletes advisory

MANILA, Philippines — Come get your shabu tested for coronavirus, read the satirical advisory in a post by a regional office of the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA).

The tongue-in-cheek post warning of a possible coronavirus-laden shabu on its Facebook page has since been deleted by the PDEA Regional Office 8 “to avoid misinformation.”

The advisory warned that shabu, or methamphetamine hydrochloride, may be contaminated with coronavirus. The post urged the public to take the prohibited drug to the nearest PDEA office or police station where it could be tested for the fatal coronavirus for free. It said PDEA officers could go to users’ homes and test the shabu in privacy.

While meant to be “satirical,” the PDEA office in Region 8 took down the post and apologized on its social media page, saying it would “be more sensitive on current issues.”

“That meth may contain coronavirus is not substantiated and is meant to lure meth drug users not to purchase illegal drugs,” the office said.

PDEA spokesperson Derrick Aquino said that the post was meant to be satirical through sarcasm, but lamented that it may be prone to varying interpretations, hence the apology.

The latest coronavirus, or COVID-19, has infected tens of thousands of people all over the world and resulted in almost three thousand deaths globally.