SOME 30 drug dependents in Caloocan who surrendered late last year and underwent six-month rehabilitation program initiated by the administration of Mayor Oscar ‘Oca’ Malapitan have been appropriately feted during a ceremony recently.
The dependents, seven of them were females, were cited at the Completion Rites held at Doña Alegria Hall in La Consolacion College just in front of the City Hall Complex after completing the program through the Community-Assisted Rehabilitation and Recovery Out-Patient Training System initiated by the Caloocan Anti-Drug Abuse Council.
Led by Mayor Malapitan and Archbishop Pablo ‘Ambo’ David and Vice Mayor Maca Asistio III, who is CADAC’s vice chair, the 30 former drug users were feted after completing the six-month rehabilitation program designed primarily to help them get away from substance abuse disorder and entirely avoid from being dependent on illegal drugs.
“My administration will continue initiating this program with the support of many concerned groups and individuals as I believe that these drug dependents can still recover and have better future for themselves instead of condemning them. But of course, the real reform should start from them,” Mayor Malapitan said.
VM Asistio, for his part, has been an active partner of the mayor in their war against all forms of illegal drug activities and their partnership with other concerned sectors including the police led by its chief, S/Supt. Chito Bersaluna has resulted in dramatic decline in crime incidents.
S/Supt. Bersaluna has been hailed by city officials, specifically Mayor Oca and VM Asistio, for the swift resolutions of several high-profile criminal cases during the past few months.
After surrendering in September last year to the Philippine National Police’s Operation Tokhang, the graduates were just among the 59 surrenderees who chose to rehabilitate themselves through the community-based program.
“They are the consistent former drug users who tested negatively from the weekly surprised drug testing,” Public Information Officer Nolan Sison.
CARROTS which was initiated by Malapitan and Bishop David gathered other stockholders to which the church provided the doctors who treat the surrenderees as out-patients, academe and other religious teachers for values formation while medicines and food were shouldered by the city government.
“They were also subjected to learn some livelihood program like soap and candlemaking, given field trips and other detox activities like bonzai therapy for them to have some sense of accomplishment if they saw their pet plants grow,” he said further.
The graduates were treated in three participating parishes, the San Roque Cathedral which is also located in front of the City Hall, Our Lady of Lourdes in Camarin and Our Lady Luhan in Bagong Barrio.
Bishop David has promised that all Catholic churches in the city will open its doors for CARROTS taking their cue from an Italian priest who said that drug problem can be addressed by “healing not by killing.” GOOD RIDDANCE/ARLIE CALALO
