DRUG REFORMATION PROGRAM. A total of 37 drug surrenderers graduate from the community-based rehabilitation program in Angeles City, Pampanga on Wednesday (Feb. 10, 2021). This program is in line with the vision to make the city drug-free. (Photo by the City Government of Angeles)
ANGELES CITY, Pampanga – Some 37 drug surrenderers graduated on Wednesday from the city’s community-based rehabilitation program.
Ricky Saul, chief of the Angeles City Anti-Drug Abuse Council (ACADAC), cited the importance of the prevention and reformation programs on drug abuse that could help surrenderers improve their lives.
Saul said the ACADAC and the Angeles City Police Office (ACPO) have been working hand in hand to protect Angeleños, especially the youth, from drugs.
He said the success rate of the ACADAC is around 80 percent in terms of outpatients finishing the duration of the program.
After graduation, he said the ACADAC also helps the outpatients gain livelihood and job opportunities.
He said the activities during the program will build the self-esteem of outpatients that would help them live a better life and avoid relapses to substance abuse.
Under the program, the drug surrenderers undergo counseling and treatment, lectures, outreach program, tree planting, and family intervention for several weeks in the city.
In October last year, the first operational Balay Silangan Reformation Center in Pampanga, which is located in Barangay Pulung Maragul, was opened in support of the vision of Mayor Carmelo Lazatin Jr. of a drug-free city. (PNA)
