ILOILO CITY -- Seventy-nine of the 747 drug surrenderers have graduated from a community-based rehabilitation program initiated by the respective rural health units of the five municipalities of Guimaras Province.
Data provided by the Guimaras public information office revealed that as of Monday, 305 drug surrenderers were assessed using the Matrix Intensive Out-Patient (MIOP) Rehabilitation.
The town of Jordan has 108 assessed out of 153 surrenderers; 174 from 209 of San Lorenzo; and 23 out of the 25 surrenderers from Sibunag. The assessment is still ongoing for 175 surrenderers from Buenavista and 185 from Nueva Valencia.
The 79 graduates were from the towns of San Lorenzo with 56 and Sibunag with 23.
The new screening and assessment using the MIOP was conducted after the Department of Health (DOH) rolled out a training series last year for personnel of the municipal anti-drug abuse council that will spearhead the rehabilitation under the helm of the rural health officer.
Information officer Jaypee Kein Entredicho said the 747 drug surrenderers yielded from August 2016 to August this year.
A total of 659 drug surrenderers were screened using a different tool but the result was disregarded after the DOH rolled out the training.
In an interview last week, Guimaras Governor Samuel Gumarin also revealed that they have to go back to square one for their barangays to be declared as drug-free using the criteria of the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA).
Before the new criteria, 77 barangays of the province and its five towns were cleared of drugs in 2016.
“We again work on our documents to see the clear picture based on the new criteria of the PDEA,” he said.
He said that the province will not be declared as drug-free unless all the 747 surrenders complete their rehabilitation.
“If the community drug rehabilitation will last for six months, then we will be cleared by June or July next year,” he added.
The provincial government has allotted PHP1.8 million for the conduct of the rehab.
The governor also underscored that compared with other big cities and provinces, the drug situation in Guimaras is “not alarming.” (PNA)
