7 surrenderers graduate from Bogo rehab program

CEBU, Philippines - Of the 1,900 drug surrenderers in the City of Bogo, only seven have graduated from the Rehabilitation and Reintegration (ReRe) Program of the local government unit and the police.

The graduation held recently was the first batch of the ReRe’s Barkadahay sessions with participants having been drug-free for 90 days.

ReRe’s Barkadahay sessions are held twice a week where drug surrenderers share their stories about what their lives were like before joining the program and at present.

It is a self-help session where attendees provide support for each other as recovering addicts. During each session, drug tests are done to check each attendee’s progress.

"Mentras buhi pa ang tawo, pwede pa mag-bag-o," said Jaime Piañar, a ReRe graduate.

Bogo City Mayor Carlo Martinez commended the graduates saying, “Nadaug ninyo balik ang pagsalig sa inyong mga igsuon.”

The graduates will continue to participate in the Barkadahay sessions, this time becoming ambassadors and facilitators to the other drug surrenderers.  Bogo City Police Station chief, Superintendent Byron Allatog, explained that challenges will continue for the graduates, including the challenge on recruiting and influencing others to join the ReRe sessions.

ReRe chairperson, Vice Mayor Mayel Martinez, added it has all been worth it despite several raised brows and dissenters who say that the program was just following a trend and would eventually fade.

ReRe was planned way back in July 2016 as a counterpart program of President Rodrigo Duterte’s Oplan Tokhang.

ReRe vice chairman Niño Tolingin emotionally recalled that at one point, there were only two who attended a Barkadahay session, but still they did not lose hope.

“Nagpadayon gihapon ang ReRe kay wala mi mag-apas sa numbers kay among gusto bisag usa lang (ka surrenderee) dako na kaayo na namo nga achievement sa ReRe Program. Dili namo ikabaylo nga wagtangon ang ReRe Program sa bisan og usa o duha ka kinabuhi ang among matabangan kay kanang usa ka kinabuhi, apil na na iyang ginikanan, asawa, anak ug silingan, dako na kaayo na siyag maambag sa siyudad sa Bogo,” he stated.

Cebu City

In Cebu City, with the suspension of Oplan Tokhang, Tisa Barangay Captain Phillip Zafra launched Barangay Advocate for Rehabilitation and Knockout Approach on Drug Abuse and Addiction (BARKADA) yesterday to help catch drug users and pushers in the absence of the police force.

“Barkada meaning higala, parehas nako og gituohan, gipadulngan. Mao na nga kitang tanan batok kita sa ilegal nga droga, kitang tanan barkada,” Zafra said.

The launch was attended by representatives from the police force such as Police Superintendent Emelie D. Santos of Cebu City Police Office representing its director, Police Senior Superintendent Joel Doria, Police Senior Inspector Rey delos Santos of Police Regional Office - 7 representing Regional Director Chief Superintendent Noli Taliño, and Police Station 10 head Police Senior Inspector Alvin Llamedo.

Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency-7 Director Yogi Filemon Ruiz and Emma Calvo, Officer in-Charge of Department of Interior and Local Government - Cebu City also attended the launch.

In his speech, Delos Santos said that the war on drugs would not only be done by the police, PDEA, military and all other forces but that the community could also do something.

For his part, Ruiz asked the attendees of the launching to organize a group that would ask drug users or pushers to stop using drugs, telling them not to be afraid to report anyone who is involved with drugs to any of their hotline numbers or Facebook account: [email protected].

Rev. Fr. Arnel Ponce, one of the representatives of the parish of Barangay Tisa, said though the Church supports the efforts of the government to solve the problem on drugs and criminality but said the efforts must not end there.

“We need to wage war against poverty. We need to wage war against unemployment. We need to wage war against corruption,” said Fr. Ponce.

As President of the Association of Barangay Councils, Zafra plans to organize BARKADA in all 80 barangays of Cebu City.

“If this would be adopted by all barangays nationwide, why not?” Zafra said.

Among other attendees were students and teachers of Tisa National High School, Tisa II Elementary School, barangay workers, and different organizations in Barangay Tisa. — Vania Mae Lim, USJ-R Intern/JBB (FREEMAN)