Military training as part rehab pushed

CEBU, Philippines - With the thousands of surrenderers in the anti-illegal drugs campaign in the province, Cebu Governor Hilario Davide III is looking into letting drug dependents undergo a citizens army training as part of their rehabilitation program.

Davide told a gathering of some 500 students and teachers in the “Barkadahan kontra droga” program that he has initially talked with an official from the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) Central Command for a specialized military training for drug users and pushers who have surrendered to the government.

Davide said there are already moves to restore the Reserved Officers Training Corps (ROTC) and these can be utilized not just for students but also for surrenderers.

“I have the opportunity to talk to a Navy officer who is among those tasked to redefine the ROTC and they are open to such proposal,” Davide said.

The proposal is to place surrenderers under a two-month army training inside the existing military camps where they will be away from vices. They will also be trained in disaster response.

“Instead of putting them in rehab centers, which regrettably wala pa ta niana. We don’t have rehab facilities yet. We will just place them inside camps,” Davide added.

Major Vivien Valerio, Information Officer of the Philippine Air Force 560th Air Base Wing-Mactan, said meetings as to the feasibility of utilizing military camps as rehabilitation centers are ongoing. In fact, she said, three sites in the Visayas have been identified.

An earlier proposal by the Cebu Provincial Anti-Illegal Drugs Office was to utilize the barangay health centers where surrenderers can attend rehab sessions.

Ivy Durano – Meca, head of the Cebu Provincial Anti-Drugs Abuse Office (CPADAO), said considering that the office was institutionalized only last June, the office remains to operate on a tight budget as its logistical requirements have not been included in the province’s annual budget.

Once the office gets its own allocation next year, it can implement its programs more freely, Meca said. — Dale G. Israel, with Ricsel Jazon Mañanita (FREEMAN)