The first batch of “drug offenders” in Pamplona, Negros Oriental have begun to undergo a three-month reformation program of the government aimed at assisting and empowering them to become more productive citizens while reintegrating into their communities.
Agent Aline C. Deposoy of the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) in Negros Oriental and the focal person for the Balay Silangan reformation program, told the Philippine News Agency in an interview Wednesday that the first batch comprises 23 individuals while another one is still recovering from an injury.
The PDEA and the Philippine National Police identify those eligible for the program based on the statement of drug pushers who had surrendered to authorities, including those who availed of a plea bargain in court, Deposoy said.
On Tuesday, PDEA and the local government unit (LGU) of Pamplona, along with its partner agencies, officially launched the Balay Silangan facility in that town, which signaled the start of the program.
The activity also included a memorandum of agreement signing between the LGU and the PDEA on the implementation of the Balay Silangan, Deposoy said.
“The Balay Silangan is a three-month program, with a one-month mandatory in-house stay of the beneficiaries and the second and third month dedicated to regular reporting two to three times a week,” she said in mixed English and Cebuano.
The LGU provides the facility and operational requirements for the Balay Silangan facility, while PDEA will take the lead in the program implementation, with partner agencies providing the necessary skills, livelihood, and other training.
For the entire Negros Oriental, the first one to implement the Balay Silangan program was the municipality of Basay, where clients already graduated early this year, the PDEA official said.
Another batch from nearby Bayawan City also completed the program, but was enrolled in the Basay facility, Deposoy said.
An LGU can make arrangements with another in terms of the use of the Balay Silangan facility, in the absence of its own reformation house, she added.
A Balay Silangan does not necessarily have to be a newly-constructed building but an existing structure that is not being utilized by other offices and can provide the requirements and privacy for such a program.
Deposoy stressed that rehabilitation and reformation of drug offenders are two separate and distinct programs.
The community-based drug rehabilitation program, undertaken by the LGU, is for identified drug users in a particular area while the reformation program is for identified drug pushers who are not necessarily users, she said.
“This is a reformation center where we provide the skills for them to improve their lives and earn a decent income, while rehabilitation is more on addressing the drug addiction of an individual,” she added.
Source: Philippines News Agency