5K former drug users in Cebu City face new life after completing rehab

CEBU: The city government here has successfully placed under community-based rehabilitation half of the almost 11,000 former drug personalities under the city's watchlist, an official said on Tuesday. Jonah John Rodriguez, executive director of the City Office for Substance Abuse Prevention (COSAP), said that 5,160 individuals from 80 villages in this capital city have completed the program. He said there are 10,701 names listed in the watchlist of the Cebu City Police Office and the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA). A team from COSAP's Barangay Drug Clearing Program also surveyed these individuals but only about half availed of the city's rehabilitation program. At least 160 of these former illegal substance users are identified as persons deprived of liberty (PDLs), he added. 'In our fight against substance abuse, nobody should be left behind,' Rodriguez said. To avoid relapse, COSAP provides incentives to individuals who can control themselves against going back to using drugs and totally st op using illegal drugs. No details were given, however, with regard to such incentives. Source: Philippines News Agency