Some 174 people who have voluntarily surrendered to the Philippine National Police (PNP) in Dumaguete City under the anti-illegal drugs war campaign Oplan TokHang, have volunteered to undergo rehabilitation.
This represents less than 20 percent of the total number of TokHang surrenderers in Dumaguete City, with the latest count pegged at 920 users and pushers.
The program reeled off Wednesday with a total of 32 sessions daily on the psychological, spiritual, and livelihood aspects, said Dumaguete police chief Supt. Jonathan Pineda on Thursday evening.
He explained that the TokHang surrenderers cannot be forced to undergo rehabilitation but warned that those who will return to the illegal drugs trade will the subject of anti-narcotics operations in the coming days.
According to him, the role of the PNP in the anti-illegal drugs war is on the law enforcement side, to include arrests, filing of cases, and the conduct of the Oplan TokHang, while on the rehabilitation side, it is the government (both at the national and local levels) that would lead the community-based program.
TokHang is coined from the Cebuano terms “toktok” or knock and “hangyo” or ask, a PNP-led house to house campaign to ask pre-identified “drug suspects” (users/pushers) to voluntarily surrender to authorities.
The City Health Office is spearheading the rehabilitation program for the surrenderers who were initially assessed. A few “severe” cases, however, were recommended for commitment to a rehabilitation center, said Supt. Pineda.
City Information Officer Dems Rey Demecillo on Friday disclosed that City Health Office Maria Sarah Talla has emphasized that the community-based rehabilitation program is to provide the surrenderers (also known as surrenderees) with the opportunity to be free from their addiction and become productive citizens.
Supt. Pineda admitted that there are some hitches to the rehabilitation program, such as some surrenderees already employed and cannot possibly complete the series of sessions, the lack of finances to ferry them to and from the venue, and possibly, stigma.
Dr. Nora Maria Elena T. Osmeña, a volunteer psychologist involved in the said program, admitted that it is a real challenge to carry out the community-based rehabilitation program without the cooperation of other stakeholders, such as the barangay officials.
She said that some of the surrenderers appeared to be fearful and “lost” during the first day of the session, even asking of there were policemen present during the program.
According to her, barangay officials should also help in contacting the surrenderers in their areas and convince them to avail of the rehabilitation program, which is patterned after the Department of Health (DOH) modules.
Supt. Pineda said that after a series of drug tests and the completion of the rehabilitation program, a surrender may qualify for a livelihood program to be handled by the Technical Education Skills and Development Authority (TESDA). (Judy Flores Partlow/PNA)
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