Bacolod Mayor Alfredo Abelardo “Albee” Benitez on Thursday, Sept. 5, said he is set to declare a non-violent all-out war against illegal drugs in Bacolod City.
“Drugs are our major problem and we have to go on an all-out war,” he said.
“We will have to address the root of the problem. Violence is not the answer, look where we are right now”, he said, in apparent reference to the violent drug war under the Duterte administration.
“Once you consider drug use a disease then the approach is not imprisonment, its rehabilitation aftercare and reintegration”, he said.
The Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency on Thursday reported that Bacolod City has the lowest number of drug cleared areas in Western Visayas at 34.43 percent.
Only 21 of 61 Bacolod barangays are considered drug-cleared.
Benitez and Regional Director Carmelo Nochete of the Department of Social Welfare and Development in Western Visayas signed a Memorandum of Agreement at the Bacolod City Government Center on Thursday to officially launch the Yakap Bayan Program in the city.
The Yakap Bayan Program is a community-based model of intervention that helps Recovering Persons Who Used Drugs (RPWUDs) reintegrate into society and sustain their new lifestyle after treatment. It emphasizes aftercare services and highlight the important role of families, communities and local government units in supporting their recovery journey.
“This requires collaboration from everyone. One of the reasons we signed this MOA is to ensure that national agencies as well as local governments are synchronized in their campaign against drug problems. Let us all pitch in so we can address this major issue. This is just the first step,” Benitez said.
The aim is to have a whole of government effort in the rehabilitation and reintegration of RPWUDs, Nochete said.
This is an all-out war for the rehabilitation of recovering persons who used drugs, he said.
Benitez stressed the need for a stronger anti-illegal drugs awareness campaign and rehabilitation programs, aside from going after those engaged in the sale of illegal drugs.
The mayor also called on the Department of Education to implement a more effective campaign against illegal drugs. *