BACOLOD City Mayor Evelio Leonardia is one of the select mayors who was invited to the “Rehabinasyon: The 1st National Anti-Drugs Summit” on February 3 to 4 at the Marco Polo Hotel in Davao City.
President Rodrigo Duterte was invited to the gala evening dubbed, #RealStories Night,” that featured Jiro Manio, Jobert Austria, JM de Guzman, Balay Silangan, and Rehabilitation and Reformation Center graduates.
Joining Leonardia is his executive assistant Samuel Montoyo, focal person of the city’s anti-drug abuse campaign.
“This is a rare opportunity to provide us in Bacolod a wholistic picture of the drug rehabilitation program of the administration. The leading anti-illegal drugs agencies have organized this to make a more comprehensive approach in their intention to rehabilitate and reintegrate the victims back to society,” declared Leonardia as he accepted the invitation.
The summit is attended by top officials of the Duterte administration and is showcasing #RealNumbers, #RealSolutions, and #RealStories.
Ramon Cualoping III, assistant secretary of the Presidential Communications Operations Office and chief brand integrator of Rehabinasyon, said the summit aims to provide a review of the government’s achievements for the past two years in solving the country’s drug problem.
It also aims to encourage the stakeholders to continue supporting this campaign because “Rahabinasyon is an investment for the future.”
Strong campaign
Last year, in recognition of its active campaign against illegal drugs, Bacolod City was granted a P10 million fund by the Dangerous Drugs Board (DDB) for construction of its P35-million drug rehabilitation center in Barangay Alijis. The remaining P25 million will be shouldered by the City Government.
Leonardia added that because Bacolod City is very cooperative in the serious conduct of the national government’s anti-drugs campaign, the = DDB chose Bacolod as the venue of the Philippine celebration of the International Day Against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking in 2017. DDB was very impressed when 17,000 participated in the early morning walk and program.
Also on March 10, 2018, the Inter-Agency Committee on Anti-Illegal Drugs (Icad) chose Bacolod as one of the first key cities to launch its town hall meeting called “Rehabinasyon,” a wholistic approach in eliminating the country’s drug problems that put a premium on the rehabilitation of drug surrenderers. About 400 people attended the launch.
The Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency has also chosen Bacolod to be the site of the pilot center of “Balay Silangan” for the Visayas, there being only one each in Luzon, Mindanao and Metro Manila.
Leonardia said one of the very first executive orders he issued when he became mayor again in 2016, was to re-activate the City Anti-Drug Abuse Council, re-aligning its composition, structures, and thrusts with that of Icad.
The city also re-activated the Barangay Anti-Drug Abuse Councils of the 61 barangays of Bacolod.
“The focus of our city’s anti-drugs campaign is the barangays. We will endeavor to declare as drug-free as many of our barangays as soon as possible,” Leonardia said. (PR)