By Roselle Aquino
SANTA ROSA CITY, Laguna Aug. 10 -- The City of Santa Rosa hosted the simple yet meaningful culminating program on Thursday for the Drug Summit 2017 which gathered hundreds of drug surrenderers at the city auditorium here.
The activity capped the City Anti-Drug Abuse Council (CADAC) collaborative conference which committed to intensify its anti-illegal drugs campaign in line with President Rodrigo Roa Duterte's relentless "war on hard drugs".
Around 620 drug surrendererers received their certificates of participation in the 45-day rehabilitation program in their respective barangays and the three-day Simula ng Pag-Asa (SIPAG) Program as one of the summit highlights.
The Drug Summit also included 22 patients from the Dangal ng Pagbabago Rehabilitation Center who graduated from the program.
Sta Rosa City Mayor Dan Fernandez, who led the certificate distribution said that the Dangal ng Pagbabago Rehabilitation Center is the first ever rehabilitation center in the country operated by a local government unit.
The center was inaugurated last January 14 initiated by the Santa Rosa local government unit in partnership with private organization Bridges of Hope.
The facility, located in an old school building at the PUP compound in Barangay Tagapo provides community-based treatment program using its Eclectic Therapeutic Community Model with 12 Steps and AfterCare programs. This includes psychological and psychiatric evaluation, 24/7 medical services, therapy, and counselling.
Police Chief Superintendent Ma. O R. Aplasca, Regional Director of the Police Regional Office 4A (Calabarzon), who represented the PNP Chief and Director General Ronald dela Rosa, expressed elation at the results of the unified actions of various government sectors down to the barangay level in the government's fight against illegal drugs.
Aplasca hoped this program will be on a sustained basis in order to stop the proliferation of illegal drugs.
In an interview, Enrique Alcala, a 34 year-old tricycle driver from Barangay Tagapo who admitted to be a drug dependent for years, said he voluntarily surrendered under the PNP's “Oplan Tokhang” and enrolled in the rehabilitation program.
"Maganda ang naidulot sa akin ng programa at full support ang aking pamilya sa aking rehabilitasyon (I have benefitted from the (rehab) program and receive the full support from my family during the rehabilitation)," Alcala said.
He added that the rehabilitation program of Sta Rosa City is the first step he undertook so he can start a new life with a clean slate. (Roselle Aquino/PNA)
