BAGUIO CITY — The Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency’s (PDEA) office in the Cordillera region is poised to operate a drug reformation facility in Bucay, Abra to augment the agency’s drug rehabilitation program.
PDEA-Cordillera Information Officer, Frederick Joseph Calulut, said Thursday the facility, covered by the Dangerous Drugs Board’s (DDB)Balay Silangan program, will start operating before end of August with an initial 30 “client-residents”, all from Bucay town.
The Balay Silangan project was launched in Bucay on Wednesday.
Calulut said Mayor Victorion Baroña Jr. accepted the project after seeing the need for it, following PDEA-Cordillera’s presentation of the program.
The project is under DDB Regulation 2 that provides guidelines in reforming drug offenders into self-sufficient and law-abiding members of society. It was passed in January 2018, aiming to augment the community-based rehabilitation program of local governments.
Calulut said that eligible for the Balay Silangan program are drug personalities who voluntarily surrendered and do not belong to the PDEA and Philippine National Police target list, wanted list, and watch list or has no pending criminal case or cases.
Also eligible are drug personalities who have availed of the plea bargaining agreement and/or convicted under Section 15 (use of dangerous drugs) of the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Law of 2002 and willing to undergo drug reformation program, which shall serve as an alternative intervention; and drug personalities who have served jail term for violation of the anti-illegal drug law.
Calulut said client-residents will undergo three phases. The first is the mandatory in-house reformation that will include physical activities, religious enhancement, psychosocial intervention, and lectures on the effects of illegal drugs.
The second phase is a six-month in-house training for those who have availed of the plea bargaining and need to serve rehabilitation in a drug facility. The facility will not admit non-drug users.
“Hindi sila tatanggapin dun kasi pag ginawa ang drug dependence exam (They will not be admitted there because their drug dependence exam will show a negative result), they will be negative so they will be in Balay Silangan,” Calulut said.
The third will be for skills training, such as green revolution or gardening, soap making, massage and reflexology skills training, basic carpentry, basic welding and electrical, basic hair cutting, food processing, and mushroom culture, as well as skills matching.
Calulut said the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority and the Department of Trade and Industry have agreed to provide training on soap making, reflexology and food processing. They are also looking into providing machine operator skills training.
The local government has also agreed to allocate PHP79 per day for each client-resident who will stay in the facility.
He said it is the first facility in northern Luzon that aims to help augment existing programs for drug surrenderers. (Liza Agoot/PNA)
