During a Senate hearing on the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency’s (PDEA) proposed 2025 budget, Senator Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa raised an unusual but practical question: Can bald individuals undergo a hair follicle drug test? Dela Rosa, who is bald, asked this while PDEA Director General Moro Virgilio Lazo was discussing the agency’s ongoing efforts to develop hair follicle drug testing capabilities.
Lazo explained that once hair is shaved, it becomes useless for testing, prompting Dela Rosa to ask if other body hair, such as nasal or genital hair, could be used instead. Lazo confirmed that any hair could be used for drug testing, but reiterated that shaved hair, regardless of location, renders the test ineffective.
PDEA officials noted that hair follicle tests can detect drug use over the past 90 days, a much longer detection window than urine tests, which can only detect recent use.