CEBU, Philippines - In order to have an organized data and to easily monitor drug surrenderers, the Cebu City Office of Substance Abuse and Prevention met with police station commanders and barangay officials.
COSAP head Dr. Alice Utlang said they want to coordinate with the concerned officials to address the influx of drug surrenderers.
She said that side from just getting information of a surrenderer, she wants them to undergo assessment then determine the appropriate action for them afterwards.
"Han-ay ba kung asa g'yud siya mabutang aron dili ma-ingon nga useless ba. Mao bitaw na'ng makit-an nimo sa balita nga ni-surrender na unta, napatay, mo-vary kay wala ma'y intervention so kinahanglan nga naa'y intervention," she said.
The city currently has the "We Care program," an outpatient drug rehabilitation program wherein a drug user, called as an enrollee, is assessed and will undergo treatment for three months and session twice a week.
During the meeting held yesterday at the City Hall, barangay officials and police officers were also oriented on what to do in terms of gathering information about the surrenderers.
COSAP consultant Pocholo Delos Santos recommended that all police stations in the city will use the Dangerous Drugs Board (DDB) form in getting a surrenderer's background and drug use information. Through the DDB form, he said, the police can easily count the total number of drug pushers, drug users and drug users who are also pushers.
He also encouraged the barangay officials to guide the surrenderers to the police station since some of them surrender to the barangay hall or at the houses or offices of the officials.
Barangay health workers, Department of Social Welfare and Development-7 and Gender and Development personnel were also present in the meeting. Staff of FARM Group of Facilities, a private-owned rehab center, who offer low cost rehabilitation, were also there.
Surrenderer nabbed
Meanwhile, 55-year-old Nestor Maghanoy, an alleged drug peddler and user who had turned himself in to the authorities in June this year, was arrested at his residence yesterday during an "Oplan Tokhang (Toktok Hangyo)" operation conducted at Sitio Regla, Barangay Mabolo in Cebu City.
Senior Superintendent Joel Doria, director of Cebu City Police Office, said the operation was part of the monitoring phase of the Oplan Tokhang for its surrenderers.
"Ang ginagawa kasi natin 'pag nagsurender sila, after ma-document, pina-follow up natin kung ano na ang ginagawa nila. Nagkataon po na instead magbagong buhay, bumalik siya sa dating gawain," Doria told reporters.
Police were able to recover from Maghanoy's house shabu weighing 70 grams and with an estimated value of P826,000. Sought for comment, Maghanoy said he could not find other source of income to support his daily needs. He is living alone in his makeshift house after being separated from his wife.
He added that he surrendered in June after he, along with other surrenderers, was assured by barangay officials of a job, which did not happen, prompting him to resume to the illegal activity three weeks ago.
"Nagsige mi paabot pero wala man unya kinahanglan baya 'ta mokaon," he said.
In a separate interview, Mabolo Barangay Captain Reynaldo Ompoc said he hired Maghanoy as a barangay street sweeper but the latter eventually left. (FREEMAN)