By Christopher Lloyd Caliwan/PNA
MANILA — The Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) is set to launch comic books that would raise public awareness on drug abuse and prevention.
“The PDEA Comics, both in English and Filipino, (will) contain stories of persons who got hooked on drugs, the challenges they face, their struggles and how they overcome their addiction through the help of the government and other stakeholders of the national anti-drug campaign,” PDEA Director General Aaron Aquino said in statement Friday.
The “PDEA Comics”, Aquino said, aims to shed light on the harmful effects of illegal drugs, through the use of drawn visuals to explain complex topics and engage people to cooperate with the government in eliminating such menace.
To be featured in the PDEA Comics are stories of youths, professionals, overseas workers, man on the street, and laborers who got hooked on drugs, ruined their lives, and made a turnaround to start life anew.
The following are the seven storylines of the PDEA Comics for future release that illustrate real-life drug abuse stories:
1. “Takbo Totoy!” (Run, Totoy, Run) is the story about drug-peddling activities perpetrated by drug syndicates in many forms, including the use of minors as runners and couriers in the illegal drug trade.
2. “Tama na, Pare” (That’s enough, Brother) is about the vulnerability of teenagers and adolescents to be hooked on illegal drugs. Peer pressure usually leads to the initiation of drug abuse.
3. “Ang Jeepney Driver” (The Jeepney Driver) tells of a jeepney driver who wanted to have the best for his family until financial problems affect them, leading him to drug use as a way to cope with.
4. “Isang Pangyayari sa Buhay ng Isang OFW” (An OFW’s Struggle), a story of an overseas Filipino worker father who decided to work abroad to provide for his family. While he was away, his son was arrested after pushing ecstacy, a party drug.
5. “Ang Nawalang Pag-asa” (Lost Hope) is the story of a person who unknowingly became a drug courier while her husband started to sell drugs and her son became a drug addict.
6. “Pintuan ng Pagbabago” (Doors of Change) tells the story of a newly-hired engineer and a young executive who faces various challenges, struggles and triumph in a construction firm. Dealing with their individual characteristic resulted in filial upbringing, peer influence, community and environment growing up, emphasizing the need for a Drug-Free Workplace policy.
7. “Phed and Eyah to the Rescue” is about Agent Phed and Agent Eyah portrayed as superheroes who save the lives of people hooked on drugs.
“The PDEA Comics will be distributed nationwide, as part of our information dissemination campaign aligned with our mandate in our drug prevention drive,” Aquino said.
