Church partners with police, LGUs vs drugs

CEBU, Philippines - The local clergy in Cebu has forged a partnership with police and village chiefs to establish and sustain drug rehabilitation programs through harmonious and nonviolent means.

Inside the San Pedro Calungsod Chapel at the South Road Properties in Cebu City, parish priests, police personnel and barangay officials gathered for the first time to be oriented on the existing drug recovery and renewal programs for them to adopt or modify.

The local Catholic Church has organized the Cebu Archdiocesan Program for Drug Dependents for this cause that was only introduced yesterday.

The CAPDD is a coordinating body which aims to help the parishes choose and set up their own programs at their own level.

“This group operates under the direction of Archbishop Palma, and as such, has no jurisdiction over barangays and other LGU's… however, it aims to link the parish with the barangays and other LGU's to come up with a common platform in addressing the drug problem at the community level,” Cebu Archdiocese Auxiliary Bishop Dennis Villarojo, the appointed CAPDD head, said.

CAPDD offers two faith-based programs the SuGod (Surrender to God) and the LaBang (Lahat Bangon).

SuGod is a 10-day intensive seminar initiated by the Kaalam Foundation, Inc. and requires intensive after-care program prior to the beneficiaries' reintegration to society.

LaBang, on the other hand, is a community-based drug rehab program piloted in the parish of San Roque in Barangay Subangdaku, Mandaue City that requires cooperation and coordination with the barangay and the police.

Villarojo said the November 2016 meeting called by Cebu Archbishop Jose Palma led to the creation of a secretariat, which will determine the programs and coordinate with different sectors in its implementation.

Series of meeting were conducted from December to January to initially discuss about the two existing drug recovery programs that involves two faith-based institutions, he added.

He said the main requirement to start such initiative is the stakeholders’ commitment, apart from other resources.

“There should be commitment of the parish priest to implement the program, which means that he must also undergo the training to have a good grasp of it… and commitment of volunteers in the parish, who require previous competencies in order to qualify,” he said.

Villarojo said the scheduled assembly yesterday was aimed at gathering all concerned stakeholders first to inform them of the existing programs which could be used as template for similar programs at the parish or barangay level.

“This is also to facilitate an encounter between parish priests, on one hand, and lay and civic leaders on the other, so that the different sectors of society may jointly reflect on and discuss the situation in the context of their communities, and formulate a common plan of action,” he said.

Chief Supt. Noli Taliño, director of the Police Regional Office in Central Visayas (PRO-7), said he felt elated that local government units and the church are helping the law enforcement agencies in the war against illegal drugs.

“With our more than 105, 000 surrenderers in Region 7, ay unti-unting matutulungan natin sila through NGO, and of course through the church,” he said.

Taliño said police stations all over the region are still accommodating drug surrenderers, who voluntarily turned themselves in to authorities.

In a separate development, Taliño has asked the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology-7 to coordinate with the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency-7 in all its anti-drug operations, particularly in apprehending personalities involved in illegal drug trade or in conducting "Greyhound Operation" inside jail facilities.

Taliño said BJMP should seek assistance from PDEA, which is now the lead agency in the war against drugs.

All the anti-illegal drugs operations initiated by the police all over the country have been suspended as the efforts to clean up the police hierarchy continues.

His statement came after a female jail visitor and a cook at the Cebu City Jail were arrested for trying to sneak in illegal drugs into the jail facility. — May B. Miasco and Christell Fatima M. Tudtud (BANAT NEWS)