AT LEAST 13 recovering drug surrenderers in Lapu-Lapu City were given livelihood assistance by the city government on Thursday, Aug. 11, 2022.
The 13 were graduates of the city’s Community Based Drug Rehabilitation Program (CBDRP), said Garry Lao, City of Lapu-Lapu Office for Substance Abuse Prevention chief.
Lapu-Lapu City Mayor Junard Chan, Lao and officials of the City Social Welfare and Development Office (CSWDO) handed P5,000 in cash aid to each graduate under their Sustainable Livelihood Program (SLP) during a formal turnover ceremony at City Hall.
Lao told SunStar Cebu that the 13 recovering drug surrenderers were the first batch to be given cash aid by the City. They will use the cash aid to start their own livelihood, Lao added.
Lao said of the 13 recovering drug surrenderers given the cash aid, 12 are from Barangay Subabasbas while one is from Barangay Talima.
Lao said about 844 drug surrenderers have so far graduated from the CBDRP from 2019 to the present.
He, however, emphasized that those who had undergone the city’s CBDRP would not automatically receive the livelihood assistance once they graduate, as they would still need to be assessed to check if they qualify for the City’s livelihood after-care program.
He noted that after graduating from the six-month CBDRP, drug surrenderers will still be monitored by the CSWDO twice a month.
Job opportunities
According to a report of the Lapu-Lapu City Public Information Office, Chan announced that they hired two of the 13 recovering drug surrenderers on Thursday.
Chan said the two will be assigned to the Clean and Green Department.
He continued to urged the CBDRP graduates in the city to leave their vice behind and turn over a new leaf.
“Biyae na ninyo ang inyong bisyo. Ang inyong bisyo karon serbisyo,” Chan told the new CBDRP graduates.
(Leave your vice behind. Make public service your vice from now on.)
Lao said there are 192 pending applicants or CBDRP graduates who are undergoing assessment for the SLP: Marigondon (34), Baring (62), Babag (12), Basak (67), and Buaya (17).