ILOILO City Mayor Jed Patrick Mabilog has raised alarm over village chiefs who allegedly refused to cooperate in the drug rehabilitation program after minimal attendees of drug surrenderees were noted.
In a reorientation and strengthening of the Barangay Anti-Drug Abuse Council forum held at the Jaro covered gym on Tuesday, September 6, Mabilog said only few of those who surrendered during the Project Tokhang of the Philippine National Police (PNP) participated in the rehab sessions conducted at the seven city district gyms since September 1.
The PNP reported a total of 2,595 Tokhang surrenderees in the city and only 420 persons with light and mild drug affectation are slated to undergo drug rehab sessions for three to six months.
Those with severe affectation are recommended for medication rehab at the Western Visayas Medical Center and West Visayas State University Hospital or the Don Benito Hospital.
Surrenderees from Molo, Jaro and Arevalo districts showed passion for rehabilitation while the rest of the districts showed very minimal attendance.
Barangay captains claimed the surrenderees are either at work or in school.
On the first day on September 1, only 244 showed up for rehab out of the 420 identified persons.
The second day on September 2, 177 persons showed up for rehab, and 160 on September 5.
Caspe said he is hoping the village chiefs will do their share and cooperate with the voluntary rehab project after the city mayor brought to their attention the minimal attendance of their surrenderees.
City Health Officer Bernard Caspe said his team of psychiatrists and nurses are supposed to conduct rehab sessions Monday to Friday with a quota of 30 persons from 9 to 11 a.m. and another 30 persons from 2 to 4 p.m. or a quota of 60 persons per city district.
The city health officer said it is the village officials’ duty to their constituents by bringing their surrenderees to the rehab center.
The city rehab project right in the community is the first kind in the country conducted by a local government unit that needs the full cooperation of village officials. (LCP/Sunnex)