CEBU Provincial Board (PB) members passed in the first reading an ordinance creating the “Crisis intervention program for surrenderers” by helping in the detoxification/withdrawal, rehabilitation and drug-proofing of barangays.
Authored by PB Member Earl Oyas, president of the Cebu Councilors’ League and chair of the committee on drug abuse prevention, the ordinance formulates a crisis intervention program that will profile surrenderers to determine who needs in-house rehabilitation or community-based rehabilitation.
The resolution creating the ordinance did not mention funds for crisis intervention, but cited the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002, which “mandates all local government units to allocate a substantial portion of their annual budget to support enforcement of laws against drug abuse, such as preventive or educational programs and rehabilitation or treatment of drug dependents.”
Standards
Section 4 of the ordinance formulates intervention programs that are in accordance with the standards established by the Dangerous Drugs Board, Department of Health and other specialized health and psychiatric agencies.
These includes profiling of surrenderers in its initial stage using Dangerous Drugs Board (DDB) form for treatment and rehabilitation.
Surrenderees are also assessed using simple screening instruments for substance abuse to determine the extent of drug dependence and whether they require out-patient treatment or in-house rehabilitation.
Treatment
The treatment includes detoxification/withdrawal, control and rehabilitation and community rehabilitation program. It also includes drug proofing the barangay, a supplemental program aimed to address drug problem and prevention.
Community rehabilitation program includes psycho education, life skills, alternative activities and counseling.
The ordinance also provides in Section 5 that “all local government units in the province of Cebu, thru its anti-Drug Abuse Council (ADAC), shall adopt the crisis intervention program for implementation in their respective jurisdiction in coordination with Cebu Provincial Ati-drug Abuse Office.”
