LEARNING FROM THE DRUG REHAB CENTER RUN BY DAVAO CITY LGU

For The Bohol Tribune

In This Our Journey

NESTOR MANIEBO PESTELOS

When I opened my Facebook page early Tuesday morning, I was greeted by three posts shared by a high school classmate and close friend, Isabel Losloso-Rivera, who has lived in the US for decades. She actually posted them in our high school alumni website, QPHS Mahal Ko; QPHS means Quezon Provincial High School, located in the provincial capital, Lucena City.

Like the rest of us in our Class 1958 batch, Isa is on her 70s and has several grand-children and dotes on them. Some of her posts understandably enough are about the seemingly endless parties she attends or helps arrange for her Apos. Filipinos the world over seem to have adopted the term Apos-tolic for all these activities which have something to do with caring for grandchildren

Isa helps raise funds for the advocacies of our NGO here in Bohol. The three posts she shared which I read this morning are all related to our current advocacy that Government agencies and civil society organizations must seek ways to either work together or complement funding and staff resources to put up community-based drug rehabilitation centers.

The existing 30-client drug rehab center in our province, put up by two private entities from Ozamis City and Minglanilla, Cebu, even if fully operational, will not make a dent on the current drug addiction problem in Bohol. We need more than one center or an expanded one to cope with the problems created by the illegal drug trade which has taken seemingly secure root in the province during recent years.  

It’s important that those in local government to be all ears to what is being announced by the Duterte administration prior to the formal take-over of Government next month. That’s why the three posts shared by my high school classmate, Isa, are quite important, specifically in relation to the campaign against illegal drug use that the Duterte government considers as top priority.

The first post is about the announcement by the President-elect that he would start the war against drugs right at the barangay level. He says the “inutility” of barangay captains accounts for the “flooding and proliferation of drugs” and the problem starts from there because they know who are involved but do nothing about it.

He will create the equivalent of a citizens army, something like the Home Guards in the fifties, the Barrio Self-Defense Units (BSDUs) in the sixties or the Civilian Home Defense Force (CHDF) in recent times, serving as local armed groups against those termed as insurgents by the State.

The new group to be created will be named Special Civilian Armed Auxiliary (SPCAA). It will be composed of persons who have finished the Reserved Officers Training Course (ROTC) or retired soldiers “who know how to handle guns and have experience in law enforcement.” The armed civilians will be supervised by the barangay captains but they would be required to report to the police precinct commanders.

The primary targets will be drug lords and drug pushers who may not be addicts themselves but they destroy lives. The post quoted the President-elect as saying during the first press conference after the elections: “Those who destroy the lives of our children must be destroyed. Those who will kill my country will be killed. Simple as that – no middle ground, no apologies, no excuses.”

The second post shared by former high school classmate took me by surprise. It’s about the drug rehab center run by the Davao LGU. I did not know such a facility exists in the city. None of those we interviewed about drug rehab centers in Davao City mentioned this LGU-run center. Probably due to lack of publicity about the center, what became foremost in the minds of people was the punisher’s approach to drug pushers and abusers.

This post, taken from the website Pinoy Trending, talks about a drug rehab program that Mayor Duterte wants replicated throughout the country. Here is the complete post:

"People thought that Ex Davao Mayor and now President Rodrigo Duterte is ruthless to the people who became addicted to illegal drugs, but the truth is, the Punisher is giving a chance to the people who wants to change and escape the addiction that destroyed their life.

“Rodrigo Duterte is offering 2,000 pesos monthly allowance to every drug-addicted citizen of Davao … willing to undergo the drug rehabilitation program of Davao.

“The Ex-Mayor sees that everyone … deserves  a second chance to change and the supporters of the punisher explained that Duterte is ruthless only [to] Drug Lords and Pushers who really destroy the life of many Filipino youth.

 “ The Davao City Treatment and Rehabilitation Center is a residential facility with a 1.2 hectares lot and is 16.7 kilometers away from the … noises of city life. [It is] located in Barangay Bago Oshiro, Tugbok District, Davao City.

“The place offers an ambiance of silence, solemnity and soberness as manifested by its lush surroundings adorned with fruit bearing trees, flowers and other ornamentals.

“To blend with nature, man-made structures such as ponds, fountains, tree house and kiosk are built not as decorative but those that are with therapeutic use. Covered court and sports equipment are also made available as complement to its sports and recreation program.”

The post says the President-elect is planning to implement this project in the whole country, including the National Capital Region.

The third post shared also by my high school classmate gives more details about this facility which grew out of the Rehabilitation Center for Drug Dependents (RCDD), established on May 23, 1985 as a pioneering initiative of the DSWD Regional Office XI  with the support of the Regional Council for Welfare of Children and Youth (RCWCY), the City Government of Davao, and several NGOs.

In more than a decade of program operations, the center has served a significant number of clientele/beneficiaries specifically the male drug and chemical abusers/dependents and non-psychotic cases ages 12-25 years old.

The City Government of Davao and the Department of Social Welfare and Development R.O. XI signed a Memorandum of Agreement on June 11, 2001, which transferred to the City LGU the operation and maintenance of the Rehabilitation Center for Drug Dependents (RDD)).

Pursuant to this MOA, the City Government of Davao  is responsible for  the operations and maintenance of the center. It shall plan, design, implement and evaluate treatment and rehabilitation program for drug dependents in Davao City.

A total amount of Twelve (12) Million Pesos was allocated initially by the City Government “to construct new facilities and renovate existing structures and thus make Davaoenos feel that the local government of Davao is serious in its campaign for a drug-free city in the near future.”

The Davao City rehab center, renamed the Davao City Treatment and Recovery Center for Drug Dependents (DCTRCDD) on October 29, 2009, now boasts of state-of-the art facilities which include among others a chapel, music room and counseling room. It is claimed the facility has become “truly an ideal place for physical, psychological, emotional and spiritual rehabilitation.”

The post adds: “It provides twenty-four (24) hour rehabilitation services which are provided by an interdisciplinary staff.” Its clients include both males and females, minors and adults, drug/substance dependents and non-psychotic cases with court orders who were apprehended and voluntarily submitting themselves for rehabilitation.

The residents are clustered into centers for minors, women and adults. An average of 50, 10 and 40 residents may be accommodated, respectively, at the rehab center or a maximum capacity of one hundred (100) residents at any given time.

As expected, there were problems met during the initial years when the city government assumed responsibility for operations of the drug rehab center:

“At the start of the operation, there were problems as to the implementation since policies, programs and rules and regulations were not so clear to the staff. Personnel were in crisis because of sudden change of work assignments [during] the transition period.

‘When the old management was replaced, there was a gradual change. Clear policies, programs and rules and regulations were properly installed. Consultations, meetings and experimentation have been regularly done. Strategies [and] innovations were employed. Evaluation plays an important role in checking whether the new program strategies [were] introduced. The first two years … proved  to be tough  and challenging  in terms of installing, implementing and strengthening  of its programs , policies and services of rehabilitation.

“ Our attendance in trainings … has enhanced our capabilities, skills, and knowledge in handling drug dependents. Issues, concerns and gaps have been properly addressed thru regular meetings, consultations, right feed backing as well as counseling among peers; spiritual enrichment sessions and recollection have given us proper direction in discharging our different assignments and tasks.”

It has become a success story and model for other LGUs wanting to set up drug rehab centers:

“Now, the DCTRCDD not only provides  services  that rehabilitate  drug dependents  but also  serves as  the training ground  of the other regions planning  to put up  similar institution like ours and those who are in after care and follow- up services, coping skills  and relapse prevention”, both in the Philippines and abroad.

Let us either visit this Center in Davao City, if project visits are still allowed under the Duterte Administration, or let us invite some resource persons from its management and staff and extract valuable lessons on how LGUs can establish such a vital facility to address this persistent drug menace in our midst. ###

NMP/18 May 2016/5.52 p.m.