Livelihood component key to successful drug rehab program, says judge

Photo taken in 2022 shows several individuals undergoing drug rehabilitation at the Mega Drug Abuse Treatment and Rehabilitation Center in Fort Magsaysay in Nueva Ecija. (INQUIRER PHOTO / GRIG C. MONTEGRANDE)

MANILA, Philippines — Drug rehabilitation should be paired with livelihood programs in order for it to succeed, according to a judge advocating for the welfare of former detainees previously involved with illegal drugs. 

Judge Maria Sophia Solidum-Taylor, presiding judge of Manila Regional Trial Court 31, shared her realization after witnessing it firsthand with an accused individual who already underwent over 20 counseling sessions and was subjected to drug rehabilitation for several months. 

“Drug rehabilitation will never succeed if you neglect the livelihood component because addiction goes hand in hand with socioeconomic problems,” Taylor said during the launching of livelihood initiatives for drug offenders undergoing drug rehabilitation program (DOUDRP). 

Even after 24 counseling sessions, the judge said the former detainee she was helping out went back to drug use, and his drug-dependency test turned out severe, prompting her to send him back to a rehab center. 

“He became well. Unfortunately, the guy had nothing to do – he didn’t have a livelihood and returned to his barkada (buddies). This time, he started using drugs again. Imagine two kinds of rehab; after a while, his wife called, and unfortunately, he went to the level of psychosis,” Taylor narrated.  

Citing data, the judge said 94 percent of people involved with drugs are the poorest of the poor, which she claimed left them with no choice but to quench their addiction while sustaining their income. 

A previous INQUIRER.net report also revealed that the goal of drug rehabilitation or counseling, such as the Barangay Anti-Drug Abuse Council (BADAC), is to steer participants away from drug involvement since not all were able to return to their old jobs or find one. 

But a BADAC official from Caloocan City revealed that not all of their graduates or participants were immediately able to find jobs; their barangay captain just absorbed some as village watchmen (tanod), among others.

In line with this, Taylor said they launched the livelihood project, which aims to help individuals involved with drugs earn a living through their own food carts and other items for livelihood.