Number of drug patients decreases in Marikina rehab; ‘Steady’ in QC rehab facility

A kitchen at Marikina rehabilitation center. /Consuelo Marquez, INQUIRER.net

MANILA, Philippines – As the government’s crackdown on illegal drugs continues, the number of drug-dependent patients in Marikina Rehabilitation Center (MRC) decreased in the past five years.

According to MRC’s data, the number of drug patients went down after 2015. From 92 in 2015, it dropped to 88 in 2016, the year that marked President Rodrigo Duterte’s intensified drive against illegal drugs.

The Marikina-based center received 70 patients in 2017, 81 in 2018 and 69 in 2019.

Asked about the continued decline in patients, Arnoel Santos, MRC’s officer-in-charge, said the installation of community-based treatment programs in Marikina barangays caused less congested rehabilitation centers.

“Because before no community-based rehab treatment program. All goes for the facility base. Now upon Drug Dependency Evaluation they go to the right treatment program,” Santos said, noting that MRC offers a facility-based treatment program under the Department of Health (DOH).

In 2016, the Dangerous Drugs Board (DDB) approved a regulation titled, Oplan Sagip, which mandates local government units’ Anti-Drug Abuse Councils (ADACs) to facilitate community-based treatment and rehabilitation services to drug surrenderers with “mild substance use.”

Under memorandum circular 2018-125 of the Department of the Interior and Local Government, Interior Secretary Eduardo Año said drug users would undergo an “orientation activity” to remind them of the consequences of their actions.

This would be followed by a drug dependency exam that would determine whether the user will be recommended to a residential treatment facility, community-based program or psychiatric facility.

Based on the Department of Budget and Management’s website, the 2019 budget allocated P1.2 billion for operations of drug abuse treatment and rehabilitation centers.

‘Steady’ numbers in QC

In a private rehabilitation center in Quezon City, number of patients have been “steady” even after the implementation of government’s anti-drug drive.

Dean Calleja, head of Quezon City’s Bridges of Hope rehabilitation center, said they offered programs to over 5,000 patients since 2015.

Calleja said the consistent number of drug dependents were due to “high standards” offered by their facility.

“I believe we have raised the standard in local addiction recovery. We have trained and credentialed councilors and facilitators,” Calleja told INQUIRER.net.

“We raised the bar as far as addiction recovery treatment goes in the Philippines,” he added.

Before being admitted to the Quezon City-based facility, Calleja stressed that a drug dependent must have family consent and must submit their medical background. He noted that psychological exams

“No one can enter a serious treatment without having important psychiatric exams,” Calleja said.

“We have to be sure that we are treating the right thing. For instance, what if we are treating addiction then it turns out he has schizophrenia?” he added.

Bridges of Hope Rehabilitation Foundation Incorporated, established in 2012, cater to 60 patients per facility. DOH’s website showed that there are two DOH-accredited Bridges of Hope facilities in Metro Manila, one each in Parañaque and Quezon City.

‘Tokhang effect’

Some workers in drug rehabilitation centers admitted that some patients’ families sent their loved ones to rehab due to fear of Oplan Tokhang, the Philippine National Police’s (PNP) strategy to curb illegal drugs.

“Tokhang,” coined by then PNP chief Ronald dela Rosa, was a mix of “katok [knock]” and Visayan word “hangyo [plead].” Government records in July 2019 showed that over 5,500 people were killed in legitimate police anti-drug operations since the Duterte drug war began.

Marilyn Tarum, social worker from the MRC, said awareness on the drug problem also caused families to admit their children who were drug dependents because of fear that their loved ones might fall victim to Tokhang operations.

“Awareness on the drug issue was heightened because after having dialogues with families of drug dependents, they mention that they are afraid that their children might become Tokhang victims,” Tarum said in Filipino.

However, in Quezon City, Calleja admitted that some families were scared to send their loved ones to the rehabilitation program due to the Tokhang scare.

“Some families would actually hide their loved one who they know uses drugs regularly because of the tokhang fear,” Calleja said.

“Families will say, ‘If I send my son here [rehabilitation center], I am so afraid that police will know his name and he will become a tokhang victim. It is always the consistent thing,” he added mixed in English and Filipino.

Calleja said that the rehabilitation center in Quezon City is heavily guarded. He added that identities and medical records of the patients are not made public.

Asked if the Tokhang scare became a factor in the decrease of patients in the Marikina rehab center, Santos said no. He explained that patients in their center declined due to community-based programs.

Calleja would not attribute the PNP anti-drug program to the steady numbers of patients in their facility. He hoped that some families should not be driven by fear when they admit their loved ones to rehabilitation.

“They believe out of love that their addicted loved one will get better. It almost never happens on their own. Intervention is necessary,” he said.

Peter (not his real name), worker at Bridges of Hope, said he would set aside politics and would help families regardless of their fear of Oplan Tokhang.

“I don’t have political views because if the families come here and ask me for help that is what we provide. It is not really political. I have no stand in political issues,” he said.

Peter said, as a former drug dependent, he has a responsibility to help families who want to admit their loved ones to rehabilitation center.

“When it comes of Tokhang issues because of Duterte, that’s them. I really don’t care about that. I’m there for the problem of their family member,” he said.

Stop the stigma

Calleja also appealed to stop stigma of killing drug dependents, saying drug users should be given “hope and strong image.”

“Remove the public stigma that some government officials are saying, ‘Let’s kill drug users. They have no future.’ Let’s change the narrative. We want a safer and cleaner society. Let’s help them, give the treatment that they need,” Calleja said mixed in Filipino and English.

Duterte, the country’s top government official, previously said he does not care about the death toll under his anti-drug campaign.

Calleja admitted that most petty crimes are related to drug use only because of the negative approach against drug dependents. He stressed that treating drug addiction is one of the effective methods to manage addiction.

“Let’s not forget na they [drug users] get away with it because there is no positive approach to treating addiction. Let’s make it positive, help and hope. It is treatable, manageable. You can’t get rid of it but you can manage it,” Calleja said.

In the Philippines, there are 41 treatment and rehabilitation centers that passed DOH accreditation. Of the number, six each in Metro Manila and Region III; one each in Region I and Caraga; 14 in Region IV-A; two in Regions V, VI and X; four in Region IX and three in Region XI.