DAVAO ORIENTAL—The province’s frontline agencies and offices who are the government’s primary movers in the nation’s war against illegal drugs are calling for the strengthened collaboration of efforts to finally clear Davao Oriental from illegal drugs.
During the kick-off ceremonies of the Drug Abuse Prevention and Control Week on November 18 at the Capitol Covered Court, Provincial Anti-Drug Abuse Council (PADAC) Action Officer Art Benjie Bulaong said that while the province is already close at clearing all of its drug-affected barangays, strong collaboration between agencies and communities is still needed to establish a safe environment for everyone, especially the youth sector.
“Today is a real manifestation that we really wanted to raise awareness on the dangers of drugs and strengthen the public’s resolve to be part of the campaign against illegal drugs,” Bulaong said, emphasizing that efforts to prevent the youth from going into illegal drugs is the essence of the celebration.
“As always, Governor Nelson Dayanghirang mentioned that he cannot do this alone. He wishes to solicit our collaborative effort in realizing what we envisioned for the province of Davao Oriental. The governor strongly believes that the most vulnerable sector in the use of illegal drugs is the youth therefore there’s a need for us to really assure that there are programs, plans, and activities that will prohibit or prevent this young people in using illegal drugs,” he said, listing series of activities for the whole week.
Through the NLD Youth, a component of the Lihok NLD (Nagkahiusang Lumulupyo Kontra Droga), series of symposium will be conducted in four schools here. Schools involved are the City of Mati National High School, Rabat Rocamora Mati Central Elementary School II, Davao Oriental State College of Science and Technology in Banaybanay, and St. Mary’s Academy of Caraga.
However, Mr. Bulaong said that for this year, the Anti-Drug Abuse Council will focus on the Community-Based Rehabilitation Program (CBRP), one of the components of the Lihok NLD program. To date, the CBRAP caters to 8,686 drug reformists from all over the province.
“The Community-Based Rehabilitation Program focuses much on the psychological and mental aspect of our reformists, including education, physical fitness, and religious enrichment and many others that we wanted to give to our clients for us to really be assured that these people will not be having a relapse. We have also the third component which is the Aftercare Program which focuses much on the livelihood trainings, skills training, and many other sustainable livelihood programs that will be offered to those graduates of Community-Based Rehabilitation Program,” he said.
Aside from strengthening CBRAP, Bulaong said that in partnership with the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) and the Philippine National Police (PNP), drug clearing operations is now in the thick of the clearing operation of the remaining four drug-infiltrated barangays.
“We are happy that in the Province of Davao Oriental, out of 79 barangays all over the province, 75 barangays were declared by the regional committee as drug cleared barangay in the province. Four more barangays to go and we will be declared as drug cleared province in the whole region and hopefully, we will be the first to be declared as drug-cleared province in the whole region,” Bulaong happily announced to the crowd composed of Provincial Capitol Employees, teachers, and students.
With the theme “Katarungan para sa Kalusugan, Kalusugan para sa Katarungan,” he also cited the changes in terms of the health and wellness of the 36 drug reformists who are currently enrolled in the government-run facility, the Bagong Bahay para sa Bagong Buhay (B4) Reformation Center.
Province to Receive Awards
After being recognized last year as the lone province with the Gold Performance in the campaign against illegal drugs, Governor Dayanghirang is set to receive another Gold Performance Award from the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) in December 2.
Also, the province will receive an award from the PDEA Regional Office for being the Most Outstanding Local Government Unit as a result of the strong collaboration and partnership forged between stakeholders.
“This is indeed a manifestation that the province of Davao Oriental has gone a very long way already when it comes to the implementation of Lihok Nagkahiusang Lumulupyo Kontra Droga that is why Governor Nelson Dayanghirang has always wanted really to solicit our cooperation, our support, and most of all our prayers for us to achieve what we envisioned for the province of Davao Oriental,” he added.
In their message, DILG Provincial Director Orle Cabaobao, PDEA Provincial Officer IA1 Eleazar Arapoc, Davao Oriental Police Provincial Office (DOPPO) Provincial Director Marcial Mariano Magistrado IV, and 701st Brigade Commander Brigadier General Manuel Sequitin have also renewed their commitment in helping the province achieve a drug-free community. By Riza M. Golez/ Photos by Eden Jhan Licayan
