The first batch consisting of 25 individuals will already graduate from the Community/Office-based rehabilitation program of the City of Lapu-Lapu Office for Substance Abuse Prevention on August 31. | Contributed photo/Garry Lao
CEBU CITY, Philippines — Some 25 recovering drug dependents in Lapu-Lapu City will be stepping into the next phase of their “second chance” as they are set to graduate from the city’s rehabilitation program this August 31, 2020.
The 25 individuals are the first batch of the City of Lapu-Lapu Office for Substance Abuse Prevention’s (CLOSAP) Community/Office-Based Rehabilitation program which kicked off last September 2019.
CLOSAP chief Garry Lao said the first batch finished their six-month program last March yet, but their graduation was put on hold following the declaration of the enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) since the end of that month until the middle of May and the city’s ongoing general community quarantine (GCQ) status.
Lao said these individuals are those who availed of the plea-bargaining agreement for their drug-related offenses. In a plea bargain, a drug offender who is charged for possession of small quantities of illegal substances may be allowed to enter a guilty plea for a lower offense and reduce his sentence.
Lao said the graduation, will be held virtually similar to their online sessions and meetings while the city was under the community quarantine.
To date, the CLOSAP is catering to close to 200 clients in its community/office-based rehabilitation program distributed in eight batches.
“We are here, the city government is here, giving them a chance — a second chance, an opportunity for them nga human sila napriso ani, gihatagan sila og opportunity sa kahitas-an nga diin magtinarong but if you do another thing nga mabalik gihapon sila, it’s no longer the problem of the government kay ang government gihatag na man sa ilaha ang kahigayonan,” Lao said in an interview on Monday, August 17.
After the graduation from the six-month program, Lao said their clients will be endorsed to their respective barangays for another six months of aftercare monitoring to ensure sustenance of their rehabilitation.
“Ang atong barangays naa man na sila’y anti-drug abuse councils. We will leave it up to the BADAC kung unsa ilang monitoring while the CSWDO has its own program usab kung asa sila mo-fit in,” Lao explained. / dcb