DSWD Supports Anti-Drug Campaign Of President Duterte By Rehabilitation Of Communities, Families
“A message of hope, support, and recovery for all drug
surrenderers.”
This is what Department of Social Welfare and Development
(DSWD) Assistant Secretary Jose Antonio Hernandez said as he spoke to a mass
gathering of urban and rural poor residents organized by the Presidential
Commission for the Urban Poor (PCUP).
The PCUP Monday, January 9 launched its program, “Urban Poor
Kontra Droga: Urban Poor Initiative towards a Drug-Free Community,” in Legazpi
City in the Bicol Region.
Based on the records of the Legazpi City Police Station, as
of October 18, some 2,467 drug dependents voluntarily surrendered to local
authorities of which 2,326 are male and 141 female. Some 62 surrenderers are
minors. In the meantime, among all the drug surrenderers, 271 are pushers and
2,196 are drug users.
The drug pushers will be under the disposition of the
Philippine National Police (PNP), but the rest will be encouraged to enter the
programs of other government agencies such as the DSWD, the Department of
Health (DOH), and the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG).
The PCUP’s Urban Poor Kontra Droga Program will strengthen
the capacities of urban poor communities in the fight against illegal drugs and
drug abuse by empowering community leaders and offering alternatives to
community members, particularly to those who belong to age groups that are
vulnerable to drug abuse.
The program also aims to reduce the factors in communities
that increase the risk of drug abuse and promote the factors that minimize the
risks. The goal is to build the capacities of leaders and people’s
organizations so they can act as positive agents in their communities.
Asec. Hernandez has been officially designated as the DSWD’s
focal person when it comes to the anti-drug campaign. Specifically, he is the
lead official in implementing the DSWD’s role in the Duterte administration’s
campaign to rehabilitate surrenderers and former users/pushers.
DSWD has a role in the administration program’s Pillar III:
Aftercare, Reintegration and Transformation Support for Recovering Drug
Dependents. As such, the DSWD will work together with the PCUP in
pursuing the same goals.
Under the Pillar III, the Cash for Work (CFW), the
Assistance to Communities in Need of Protective Services, Assistance to
Individuals in Crisis Situations (AICS), and the Sustainable Livelihood Program
(SLP) are recommended to be funded to provide assistance to the recovering drug
dependents along with other psychosocial programs of the Department and other
programs of other agencies.
Asec. Hernandez said that the Philippines’ drug problem has
to be addressed through interventions that go to the root causes: poverty
caused by lack of social support for many Filipinos, corruption in various
levels in the various agencies of government, and lack of sustainable,
productive employment for the poor.
“But we need to start at the beginning – in the communities,
in the very areas where the drug problem takes root and endangers the lives and
security of Filipinos,” said Asec. Hernandez.
“The DSWD’s involvement in the anti-drug campaign is focused
on strengthening families and communities to help them resist and fight against
the scourge of illegal drugs. We have to help surrenderers and former users and
pushers to return to the fold of society and work towards their own full
recovery. We want them not only to be of full use to themselves and to their
families, but to their communities as well. The DSWD fully extends all its
programs to assist surrenderers who have declared their willingness to become
part of the government’s efforts to help them,” he said.
“Ang gusto natin ay tulungan ang mga surrenderers na
maitaguyod muli ang mga sarili at sariling dignidad. Napakalaki pa ng kanilang
potensyal na magbagong-buhay at makatulong sa kanilang mga pamilya at
komunidad. Madalas kasi, alam ko, na hindi makabangon ang marami nating mga
kababayan dahil kulang o walang natatanggap na suporta mula sa pamilya at sa
gobyerno. Ito ang pinagtatangkaan nating baguhin ngayon,” said Asec. Hernandez.
“Gusto nating bigyan ng pag-asa ang mga kababayan nating
nalulong sa bawal na gamot o sa pagtutulak nito na pwede pa silang tanggapin
muli ng komunidad at maging mga kapaki-pakinabang na miyembro ng lipunan.
Tutulong ang gobyerno ni Pangulong Duterte at ang DSWD sa pamamagitan ng mga
programang pangkalusugan at pangkabuhayan para palakasin ang loob ng mga surrenderers
na kaya pa nilang magsimula muli at magkaroon ng kinabukasang hindi nilason o
sinira ng bawal na gamot,” he added.
DSWD Supports Anti-Drug Campaign Of President Duterte By Rehabilitation Of Communities, Families
Reviewed by Yen
on
January 11, 2017
Rating:
Post a Comment