THE Cebu City Police Office (CCPO) will launch a learning module with a guided workbook about illegal drug resistance next month to intensify its Drug Abuse Resistance Education (DARE) in schools in Cebu City
SPO3 Egmedio Felisen from the CCPO Police Community Relations and Vice President of DARE, said the anti-drug abuse curriculum will be piloted in Grades 5 and 6 in selected elementary schools in Cebu City.
The curriculum will be aided with a workbook designed by the Department of Education (DepEd) Cebu City Division and the Cebu City Office on Substance Abuse Prevention (COSAP).
The curriculum will tackle the fundamental rights of the students, a quick fact sheet about drugs and the proper way of addressing situations relating to illegal drug use.
The anti-drug abuse curriculum will be held for 45 minutes every week in a span of 17 weeks.
The CCPO, along with the Cebu City Schools Division, Comission on Higher Education, Liga ng mga Barangay and the local government, recently signed a memorandum of understanding for the implementation of the program.
The program will be handled by police officers who have accreditation from the Dangerous Drugs Board.
More than 40 police officers are accredited to handle the DARE program in Central Visayas. Five of them are based in Cebu City.
Aside from the structured curriculum for intermediate students, Cebu City Police Communiy Relations will also continue to conduct anti-illegal drug symposia and distribute instructional materials for the high school students.
Police Regional Office Director Patrocinio Comendador also supported the move to implement the DARE in various schools in the Central Visayas.
“We see DARE to be a very effective strategy and a long term operational program that will address and target the incidence of drug use in schools,” Comendador said in an interview with reporters on Monday.
Aside from Cebu City, Mandaue City and Lapu-Lapu City have already implemented their DARE programs. /UP Cebu Intern Patrick Byron G. Gattoc