UNDERSECRETARY Ma. Belen Angelita Matibag, executive director of Dangerous Drugs Board (DDB), said on Monday, June 26, that it is part of their plans to construct a drug rehabilitation center in Bacolod City.
“We consider Bacolod, but it will depend on the number of drug use incidents,” Matibag said.
The DDB official was in the city Monday for the 2017 International Day Against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking (Idadait) assembly at the plaza attended by at least 17,000 participants, including delegates from Luzon.
Matibag said they are prioritizing the area with huge number of drug use incidents and they are constructing one drug rehabilitation building per region every year.
The DBB is evaluating the drug violation records of Bacolod, she added.
Matibag said they have a procedure in implementing the project and one of their problems is the lack of official and permanent members at the DDB.
“The board cannot initiate because we don’t have a chairman and our members are not complete. We must have a collegial division on the matters like that as to whom to give the funding for the treatment and drug rehabilitation,” she said.
Matibag said the City Government should submit a notice of intent for the construction of the drug rehabilitation center and some documentary requirements.
She said the maintenance and operation of the facility should be taken charge by the local government unit.
Mayor Evelio Leonardia said they will follow-up the project and they will propose to construct the facility in Barangay Alijis.
“Every major city needs a drug rehabilitation center,” he said.
Last month, 65 drug reformists completed the eight-week Community-Based Drug Rehabilitation Program facilitated by the Bacolod City Anti-Drug Abuse Council.
Meanwhile, the 2017 Idadait assembly themed “Listen First” was attended by students, teachers, barangay leaders, government workers, among others.
Matibag said in her speech the youth remains to be the sector most vulnerable to drugs, and the target of drug perpetrators.
“However, it is not right to just consider them as victims, we believe that the youth also have the capacity to rise up against the drug menace. Knowledge, resilience and idealism spell the difference among the youth. That is why we have to listen to them,” Matibag stressed.
The DDB chief also underscored the role of the parents in the fight against drugs, saying they have the most influence in helping their children grow happy and learn to cope well in difficult life situations.
“It is important for us to create a strong bond between our children and this bond can be built by listening to them and showing them we care. This strong bond will protect our children from risky and harmful behaviors including drug use,” she added.
Matibag also said that children and the youth need the policy-makers and program implementers to listen to them with warmth and care.
Often, the most effective programs and interventions actually come from them, she further said.
Assistant Secretary Earl Saavedra also of DDB told Leonardia that Bacolod was chosen to host this year’s Idadait, which is the first time to be held outside Luzon, because the city “has good practices in terms of drug abuse prevention and control.”
House Deputy Speaker Mercedes Alvarez, representative of the Sixth District of Negros Occidental, as guest speaker shared her experiences as a youth and also held a trivia game for the students. (with reports from PNA)
