US chaplains assist in drug rehab efforts

MANILA, Philippines - Chaplains from the US Armed Services and Armed Forces of the Philippines met for a professional and spiritual workshop on caring for persons with substance abuse addiction.  

US military chaplain Lt. Col. Leah Boling conducted on Thursday at the Shrine of St. Therese a workshop on substance abuse prevention with chaplains from the AFP titled “Preventing and addressing alcohol and drug problems.” It gave  the chaplains an opportunity to share best practices in substance abuse prevention, treatment and recovery. 

The training featured presentations on substance abuse prevention and treatment from Boling, a native of Davao, who specializes in professional counseling.

 The chaplain exchange highlights one of over 80 subject matter expert exchanges set for this year where US and Philippine service members exchange experiences and skills to bolster the capabilities and readiness of both services. 

Each exchange occurs at the invitation of the Philippine government and at the direction of US Pacific Command.

The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) said it does not have the resources for funding of drug rehabilitation in the Philippines, but it is open to discussion to support to President Duterte’s priority program. 

Senior Deputy Assistant Administrator for Asia Gloria Steele disclosed that drug rehabilitation is an area that Health Secretary Paulyn Ubial would like to discuss with USAID when she visits the United States.

Steele, former USAID mission director for the Philippines, stressed that the agency understands that drug rehabilitation is a priority area of the Philippine President for his ‘war on drugs’ and “they just said that’s an area they want to talk to us about but we don’t have resources.”

Drug rehabilitation was not in USAID’s previous priorities, Steele said.