CPADAO mulls sending surrenderers to Bohol

CEBU, Philippines - The Cebu Provincial Anti-Drugs Abuse Office is planning to send "high risk" drug surrenderers needing immediate treatment to Bohol or other areas where the national government will construct rehabilitation centers.

At least 10 percent or 3,500 of the 35,000 drug personalities who "surrendered" to authorities needed rehabilitation.  CPADAO Chief Ivy-Durano Meca said this is among the Capitol's contingency plans if the Department of Health won't consider the request of Governor Hilario Davide III to include Cebu in the areas where new rehabilitation centers will be constructed.

Meca said they also consider referring them to the rehab facility in Argao town since the national government allotted for its expansion. Argao rehab center has been allocated a budget of P54.08 million while P11.7 million has been earmarked for another center in Cebu City.

 The fund is part of the P570 million the DOH has allocated to construct, upgrade, expand, and repair 16 public centers across the country in support of President Rodrigo Duterte's war on illegal drugs.

 Rustum Fanugao Jr., health program officer of Argao rehab facility, earlier said that the 50-bed capacity facility is accommodating at least 99 patients for treatment. Eversley, on the other hand, can only cater up to 25 patients.

 DOH-7 director Jaime Bernadas recently said that patients in Argao have already reached almost 200.The influx of drug surrenderers has prompted the government to expand both rehab facilities.

Funugao said the bed capacity of Argao center will be increased to 200 but construction is still underway. Meca said there was also an offer to use the Central Command (Centcom) as rehab facility for the drug surrenderers.

 Although a community-based treatment program has been pushed for rehabilitation and reintegration of drug surrenderers to the society.

"Based sa kadtong department heads nga planning, it was really suggested by everyone that the province will really focus on the community-based treatment program nga i-institutionalize gyud nato ang CBT. It's more accessible especially the majority of surrenderers are not those high-risk," she said.

 She said the remaining 31,500 will undergo rehabilitation under the community-based treatment.

The provincial government's Control and Rehabilitation on Substance Abuse program which consists of three phases will focus on the welfare of those who surrendered.

 The first phase will focus on the immediate processing and profiling of drug dependents who will be categorized either user or pusher.

The second phase will focus on the barangay-based programs that facilitate basic treatment through education, life skills training, alternative activities and counseling for an estimated period of six months. The last phase is the drug proofing of the barangay. In this phase the surrenderers will also be reintegrated into the mainstream community.

 Out of 1,066 barangays in the entire province, 94 percent have been identified as drug affected, 14 of which are labeled as seriously affected. (FREEMAN)