Short answer. Yes. Section 28 requires the maximum penalty for a drug offence to be imposed when the person found guilty is a government official or employee, and it adds absolute perpetual disqualification from public office. Their status removes the court's discretion to impose anything below the top of the range.
What the law says
The maximum penalties of the unlawful acts provided for in this Act shall be imposed, in addition to absolute perpetual disqualification from any public office, if those found guilty of such unlawful acts are government officials and employees
RA 9165, Section 28 — Government Employees As Offenders. Read the full provision →
What Section 28 does
The provision states that the maximum penalties of the unlawful acts provided for in this Act shall be imposed, in addition to absolute perpetual disqualification from any public office, if those found guilty of such unlawful acts are government officials and employees. It is a blanket aggravation tied to the offender's public status. Whatever drug offence is involved, if the person convicted works for the government the court must impose the top of the prescribed penalty and, on top of that, permanently disqualify them from public office. The offender's employment, not the details of the act, is what fixes the result.
Why the maximum applies automatically
Most offences under the drug law carry a range of penalties, and for an ordinary offender the court weighs the circumstances to place the sentence somewhere within that range. Section 28 removes that latitude when the offender is in government: the penalty goes to its maximum as a matter of course. The rationale is the heightened duty a public servant owes — a breach of the drug law by someone the state employs is treated as graver precisely because of the office. The court is not choosing the maximum; the statute directs it.
Perpetual disqualification comes on top
Beyond the criminal penalty, the section adds absolute perpetual disqualification from any public office. That is a permanent consequence distinct from the imprisonment or fine, and it applies to officials and rank-and-file employees alike, not only to senior officers. The effect is that a government worker convicted of a drug offence not only serves the maximum sentence but is also barred for good from public employment. The two consequences are cumulative — the disqualification is not an alternative to the penalty but an addition to it.
What it does not do, and what to check
Section 28 does not create a separate crime. It governs how the underlying drug offence is punished once guilt has been established, so it comes into play at sentencing rather than as a distinct charge. Whether it applies can still be contested — chiefly on whether the accused truly falls within "government officials and employees" for the purpose of the section, which is not always obvious for contractual or casual personnel. The precise offence charged and the accused's exact employment status are the two things a lawyer would need to see to gauge the exposure.