I borrow the erstwhile motto of the British SAS or Special Air Service as a title to this piece. Unlike, however, in a previous column piece where I wrote about the birthday celebration of the US Marine Corps, this article has nothing to do with the military or the armed forces. Well, not directly, at least.
We all know that one of the campaign promises of then-presidential candidate Rodrigo Roa Duterte was to wage an all-out war on illegal drugs. From Day One of his assumption of the presidency, Tatay Digong, as he is fondly called, has given out instructions to the government agencies concerned, especially those in law enforcement and justice administration, to put an end to the illegal drug trade and to stamp out drug addiction.
As a loving father to the nation, so to speak, he also cannot let those addicted to illegal drugs just fall to the wayside and be unnecessary burdens to society. Belief in the ability of addicts to be able to heal and change themselves, in the same way that society heals and changes itself from time to time, has paved the way for rehabilitation to be pursued as a necessary component in the illegal drug campaign.
But it has also been identified that education is as vital a component as rehabilitation and that proper drug education could even curb not just the need for rehabilitation but also the problem of addiction. Proper drug education can eradicate addiction which also impacts on the illegal drug trade.
This is where DARE comes in.
DARE stands for Drug Abuse Resistance Education whose primary goal is to teach effective peer resistance to substance abuse among the youth and to equip the youth, who are more prone to giving in to drug usage, with the awareness of the dangers of drug abuse and violence.
The DARE program was designed and implemented in the US by the Los Angeles Unified School District in coordination with the Los Angeles Police District or LAPD.
Back in 1993, then-Vice President Joseph Ejercito Estrada invited the LAPD to the Philippines to train PNP officers to become DARE officers in the Philippines.
Back then, however, without the necessary private sector support, the program could only do so much in training the PNP. In recent years, there was a clamor for the revival of the program; thus, in 2015, DARE Philippines Association Inc. or DARE Philippines was born.
Just recently, the DARE Philippines Board, under the able chairmanship of President Mayor Joseph Ejercito Estrada, met to discuss its plans and programs for 2018. ERAP has been instrumental in bringing DARE to the Philippines and continues to be its prime mover even under this current administration.
I have the honor of serving as a Member of the DARE Board together with other luminaries and former colleagues, such as: Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCCI) Chairman Sergio Ortiz-Luis; Former GMA Network President Menardo Jimenez; Former Finance and Trade Secretary and current Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE) Chairman Jose “Tito” Pardo, who also serves as DARE Philippines Honorary Vice-Chairman; Budget Secretary Ben Diokno; Philippines Inc. President Tony Lopa who is also DARE Treasurer; National Center for Mediation (NCM) Executive Director and PCCI Committees Chairman Pol Aure; former Senate Chief of Staff and current DARE Philippines Executive Vice-President Atty. Donna Gasgonia; former Presidential Chief of Staff and current DARE Philippines President Eki Cardenas; and former Labor Secretary and current DARE Philippines Corporate Secretary Atty. Benny Laguesma.
The DARE Board plans to meet President Duterte soon to present its programs for the year.
It is only with the involvement of all sectors concerned, especially in the realm of education, that we can win this war on illegal drugs.
I DARE you to get involved.
