23/01/2023
What plan is the government making regarding the drug issue?
Collaboration among law enforcement, health, and social service agencies can help reduce demand, which fuels drug trafficking activities, often involving violence and crime. Treating addicts and preventing the onset of drug use can complement law enforcement efforts to reduce supply.
The Dangerous Drugs Board (DDB), with the help of various implementing agencies and organizations in the Philippines, has a range of educational programs and services designed to cater to the needs of every sector of society. It has programs that engage the youth, address the needs of parents, and provide employers, educators, health professionals, policymakers, and other sectors with information on the prevention and control of drug use.
A key program implemented to strengthen the family as the first line of defence against drug abuse is the Systematic Training for Effective Parenting where parents are taught ways to improve their relations with their children, and detect and refer drug dependents for appropriate care. A well-informed parent-youth resource against drug abuse was also developed to discuss common issues and concerns and promote a joint association that will help minimize drug problem in the family and community.
The senior citizens or elderly are also tapped as advocates in drug abuse prevention and control.
Communities have been in the center of drug prevention and control efforts in the country. For the DDB, the most effective interventions are the ones that emanate from the community, carried out by the community, for the community.
Local Government officials and community leaders are provided with training programs to strengthen their capacities to lead the implementation of drug abuse prevention and control programs in their communities which includes the conduct of advocacy programs, preventive education activities, and community-based treatment and rehabilitation services.
In 2017, the DDB has also partnered with the Presidential Commission for the Urban Poor for the conduct of an anti-drug program dubbed as “Urban Poor Against Drugs: Harnessing Capacities for Drug-Free Communities.”
This program aims to build the capacities of peoples’ organizations in taking action against the proliferation of illegal drugs and drug abuse in urban poor communities. It also aims to identify and provide alternative activities for segments of the population vulnerable to drugs abuse.
The DDB also spearheads the conduct of capacity-building workshops for those at the forefront of drug abuse prevention and control programs such as elected officials of local government units and health and social workers. They are provided with orientation and training on strengthening anti-drug abuse councils, implementing drug-clearing program, and establishing community-based treatment and rehabilitation services for Persons Who Use Drugs (PWUDs).
As a result, cities and municipalities throughout the country have been taking the lead in the implementation of community-based treatment and rehabilitation programs. Interventions to rehabilitate PWUDs include medication-assisted treatment, detoxification counseling, home-based care and therapy, health services, wellness promotion programs, and other psychological interventions.
As part of the reintegration program for PWUDs, an alternative development program dubbed as “Tahanang Pangkabuhayan” or “Sheltered Workshops” was also launched to provide skills training and livelihood assistance to recovering drug users enrolled in community-based treatment and rehabilitation programs.
