The Department of Social Welfare and Development’s (DSWD) efforts to support the Duterte administration’s National Drug Rehabilitation Program (NDRP) were launched earlier last month as DSWD Assistant Secretary for Special Concerns Jose Antonio Hernandez went to the Ifugao region to promote the transformation of surrenderers and former drug users into volunteers, and eventually into advocates and finally leaders of their communities.
Earlier in January, Asec. Hernandez and DSWD-Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR) Director Janet Armas went around communities in Ifugao to observe the provincial government’s initiatives to rehabilitate drug surrenderers. They went to the Ifugao Reflection Camp (IRC) which is a half-way house institution for surrenderers who engage in a community-based rehabilitation program. Its program is part center and part-community based in nature, and it also provides after care services which aim to assist surrenderers in their recovery efforts so they can eventually return to their families and communities. It is located in the enclosed compound of the old Ifugao Provincial Jail at Tiger Hill in Baguinge, Kiangan, and its work has been initiated by the Social Welfare and Development Office (SWDO).
“The establishment of the IRC is a most commendable effort and its work should be replicated in other provinces by other LGUs and social welfare units in coordination with civil society organizations (CSOs). The atmosphere in the IRC is very conducive to recovery because the surrenderers are treated with respect, and they are taught to see their own worth to their families and communities,” said Asec. Hernandez.
The IRC provides five types of services to surrenderers upon entry: 1) medical assistance; 2) health and fitness therapy; 3) counselling/psychosocial intervention; 4) spiritual counselling; and, 5) life skills capability building and referral.
“The call of the DSWD is for us to help those who want to start anew after leaving behind lives negatively affected or even almost destroyed by illegal drug use. We want these Filipinos to be able to return to their families and communities and be productive citizens able to contribute to social transformation even in small ways,” Asec. Hernandez explained.
The official also explained that under the NDRP and its Pillar III component (aftercare) which is shouldered by DSWD, 2 Cs are very important: Coordination and Cooperation.
“The coordination and cooperation of the different partner government agencies are important because they will provide the main mechanisms and interventions to help the surrenderers,” he said. Among the interventions that various government agencies and its partners provide surrenderers are detoxification (physical fitness exercises and dietary management); biomedical monitoring; behavioral intervention (personality development modules, spiritual counselling; therapeutic community approach; cognitive behavioral therapy and family behavioral therapy); and extension services (drug abuse composite intervention training and drug clearing operations training).
“If and when we provide all these services to drug surrenderers and be consistent in our support to them, the process of their recovery – while admittedly difficult – will not be impossible. Throughout each step, we will monitor their progress. From being surrenderers, they will become volunteers who will be encouraged to actively participate in community service activities such as clean-up drives. They will become part of the community resource pool, and they will be provided with skills training opportunities.
“As time passes and their skills improve, they will become advocates – among the trainings they will receive will focus on disaster preparedness, so they can help empower their respective communities to become more prepared and resilient against disasters. In the end, as they succeed at making a complete recovery, they will be transformed into community leaders who can, for instance, lead disaster response efforts in their communities. All our efforts to fight the drug menace is for the Filipino people and the next generation. We want to strengthen families and strengthen communities so they can defend themselves against illegal drugs and those who run this infamous industry,” said Asec. Hernandez.
“The campaign against drugs can be window of hope for many Filipinos. From being cancers of society, surrenderers can be transformed into partners for change. It can be done if we all work together,” he concluded. ###
