The success of a community-based drug rehabilitation program highly depends on the support and cooperation of a local government unit, the Philippine National Police Provincial Director of Negros Oriental stressed.
Sr. Supt. Edwin Portento highlighted the need for the LGUs to implement their respective community-based rehabilitation programs for drug users who seek to be free and treated of their addiction to illegal drugs.
The government, through the Department of Health, issues a certificate for the community-based treatment and rehabilitation program that is highly encouraged to complement President Rodrigo Duterte’s anti-illegal drugs campaign, Portento said on Tuesday afternoon.
The police director cited as an example Canlaon City, the northernmost city in Negros Oriental, which has shown a 66 percent rate in the its program participants, mostly surrenderers under Oplan TokHang.
The PNP is helping out in this effort, which involves medical doctors as well, and just last month, the program held a graduation ceremony for its clients, Portento said.
With this, the Negros Oriental Drug Abuse & Prevention Council, headed by Fernando Martinez, hopes to implement the community-based treatment and rehabilitation program as included in the 2017-2019 Peace and Order Public Safety Plan, Portento disclosed.
It has a budget of P10 million, he added.
Canlaon City will be made a model for this and the LGUs are encouraged to cooperate, otherwise, nothing good will happen to government’s efforts to address the illegal drugs problem, specifically in the area of rehabilitation, Portento stressed. (Judy Flores Partlow/PNA)
