Some 142 drug surrenderers in Valenzuela City have graduated from a six-month drug rehabilitation in Pampanga.
The graduates comprised the first batch of drug personalities who voluntarily yielded to the police last November 2016, Mayor Rex Gatchalian said.
The mayor vowed to provide them a “change of better life” once they graduated from the rehabilitation program.
Their graduation was held at the Valenzuela City Auditorium witnessed by the city and police officials, their families who welcomed them with smiles.
Gatchalian said they will now be reintegrated to the community through the 18-month After Care Program facilitated by the Valenzuela Anti-Drug Abuse Council, City Social Welfare and Development Office, and the Valenzuela City Health Office.
Gatchalian promised the graduates a better life through different livelihood programs for them and education program for those who want to further their studies, “unless they are tempted to go back to their old habits as drug users.”
Once they are released, each surrenderer will be monitored regularly by a team tasked to report to the VADAC to ensure no one will become user again, which is the intention of the rehabilitation program and make the program a success.
NPD director Roberto Fajardo, who called the graduates as “warriors,” also appealed to them to help themselves and their parents as well as the PNP to make Valenzuela a drug-free city because the police will continue the anti-drug campaign to the last user.
“Rehab for users, prison for pushers,” he said. “Your family is your inspiration. In all your undertakings, put God at the center of your life.”
Through the Vadac and Councilor Antonio R. Espiritu, action officer, the surrenderers were sent to the Central Luzon Drug Rehabilitation Center in Magalang, Pampanga at the height of the anti-drug campaign.
The authorities said these surrenderers submitted to the rehabilitation program funded by the city government amounting to P7 million, sourced from the VADAC fund and the general fund of the local government.
With its intention to help these surrenderers attain a new chapter in their lives, the City Social Welfare and Development Office also conducted case studies while their families were given support such as livelihood programs and grocery packs to sustain them while their family members were undergoing rehabilitation.
A “Salo sa Pagbabago” Christmas celebration served as a highlight of their stay at the rehabilitation center. Their family were allowed to spend a day with them last Dec. 15.