Have no fear, country needs ‘Masa Masid’ volunteers – Sueno

INTERIOR Secretary Mike Sueno urged the public not to be afraid to volunteer in the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG)’s “Masa Masid” (Mamamayang Ayaw sa Anomalya, Mamamayang Ayaw sa Iligal na Droga) to help the government in its intensified campaign against drugs.

“People should not fear volunteering in the Masa Masid program. It will not be known who reports what. Reports will be validated and the validation will be fast since it is barangay-based,” said Sueno at the launch of “Masa Masid” at Batasan Hills in Quezon City.

“Let the barangay rise up against [the] infiltration of drugs and criminality and from being pulled [into] poverty because of corruption,” Sueno said.

The “Masa Masid” program of the DILG is a community-based initiative to engage volunteers to fight criminality, corruption and drugs.

“Masa Masid” teams will conduct orientation programs  starting this week at the regional, provincial, city, municipal and barangay levels.

They will conduct advocacy and education campaigns and seminars on information gathering and reporting.

The team will also coordinate the support of local experts and practitioners to volunteer in the Community Rehabilitation Network (CRN), which handles the community-based rehabilitation program for the holistic recovery of drug dependents.

During the launch, Sueno read a message from President Duterte, who flew to Vietnam for an official trip.

Duterte said the government has allocated a portion in the national budget for the Masa Masid program. The specific amount, however, was not mentioned in the message.

“I trust that the Masa Masid program will be an effective mechanism to transform our kababayans  into significant agents of public change.”

Among the agencies and sectors participating in the program are the Philippine National Police (PNP), faith-based groups and Liga ng Barangay (LnB) and city or municipal Anti-Drug Abuse Councils./ac