A PWUD receives his certificate from Kidapawan City Mayor Joseph Evangelista as other local officials look on during Friday's graduation here. (Kidapawan CIO)
KIDAPAWAN CITY – A total of 129 former drug personalities here have graduated from the drug rehabilitation program of the Kidapawan City government, officials said Friday.
Mayor Joseph Evangelista said the “Persons Who Used Drugs” (PWUDs) have finished various rehabilitation programs in six barangays in the past six months.
“They are now ready to be reintegrated to the mainstream,” Evangelista said.
Of the total PWUDs who completed the program, 82 are from Barangay Poblacion; Mateo (8); Paco (9); Balindong (12); Singao (13); and Patadon (5).
Of the graduates, 120 were male and nine were female who religiously abided by the program designed for them to reform.
"All are happy that the government has provided them the opportunity to reform and take a new path to a better and productive life,” Evangelista said in the vernacular.
However, the mayor made it clear that the government rehab program does not end with the PWUDs’ graduation, saying the former drug dependents will be given opportunities for them to become more productive citizens.
For instance, he said, the PWUDs will be given skills and livelihood training in coordination with the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority and the Department of Education Alternative Learning System. (PNA)
