In Munti, they kill drug users—with kindness, second chances

Christmas is indeed a season for renewal and new directions for Benjie Sumiller, one of the 700 Muntinlupa residents who have entered a reintegration program for drug users.—DEXTER CABALZA

Benjie Sumiller of Barangay Sucat went home with a big smile and a welcome burden—five kilos of rice and a noche buena grocery pack worth P300—from a Christmas party recently organized by the local government of Muntinlupa City.

It was a party where the idea was to stay sober, for it gathered confessed drug users who had surrendered under the government’s Oplan Tokhang antidrug campaign.

“They gave me rice and some ingredients for fruit salad and spaghetti,” a grinning Sumiller said of the goodies given to him by a fellow drug surrenderer who was moved by his speech on how illegal drugs ruined his family and how he now plans to redeem himself.

“Most of my income then as a construction worker went to drinks and drugs. It is rare for me to have food like these on the table, even during Christmas,” he said.

The 38-year-old Sumiller is one of the 700 members of Mapalad, a program of the city’s Drug Abuse Prevention and Control Office (Dapco) to reform and reintegrate Tokhang surrenderers into their communities. Mapalad means fortunate in Filipino, but it is also the acronym for “Mamamayan at Pamilyang Ayaw sa Droga (citizens and families against drugs).”

Monitored weekly

According to Dapco head Florocito Ragudo, out of the more than 3,000 who had surrendered in Muntinlupa, 724 were assessed to be “mildly” or “slightly” affected by drug use, which qualifies them for counseling and livelihood seminars.

Mapalad members are being monitored weekly by officers of the barangay antidrug abuse councils (Badac) for three months. Surprise drug tests are conducted to check on their progress, and those still found positive would be referred to the city-level council for possible medical intervention.

During the party, Sumiller ended his testimonial by singing “Bawal na Gamot,” a song about the tragedy of drug addiction, made popular by blind singer Willy Garte in the 1990s. The piece, he said, “perfectly summarizes the regret I felt after years of drug abuse.”

Sumiller admitted becoming the “worst husband and father” due to his addiction. “I hurt everyone and destroy everything whenever I am drunk or high on drugs. My family and friends called me barumbado (boorish),” he recalled in an Inquirer interview on Saturday.

‘Salary deduction’

“I was supposed to give (my earnings of around) P2,000 to my wife for our daily expenses, but I take a cut—around P100 at a time—so I could buy ‘shabu’ (meth). Whenever she asked what happened to the money I deducted, I would make up stories and say I just had to help a friend.”

While President Duterte’s bloody war on drugs may strike fear among Tokhang surrenderers, Sumiller said he’s actually more afraid of his children growing up thinking their father is a bad person.

“I was a thief and a liar to my own family. I do not want my wife hating me and our children growing up bearing a grudge and not looking up to their father because he’s an addict,” he said.

Sumiller said he was not afraid when he surrendered in July, even with the possibility of ending up as a victim of “Kick-Bang”—a play on Tokhang.

One dies in a Kick Bang “when the police comes kicking your door open and shooting you,” he explained, saying such fate had befallen many surrenderers who “continued to do drugs.”

“If they do not do anything wrong, God will protect them,” he said.

1 killed by gunmen

Of the 700 Mapalad members, one was killed by unidentified gunmen in October, according to Julie Tarrayo of Dapco. The victim, from Barangay Bayanan, continued using drugs even after he surrendered and enlisted in the program, she said.

“It’s not just the police and the local officials who monitor the surrenderers. The drug suppliers and pushers have their own way of monitoring,” Ragudo said. “If they learned that you had squealed on your source, you’re dead for sure.”

Sumiller goes to the Badac of Sucat every Wednesday for his intervention and monitoring sessions. Attendees are asked if they did drugs over the week and are encouraged to share their thoughts and listen to spiritual counselors.

Those who attend the sessions in Sucat also get a kilo of rice and some groceries from the barangay.

But according to “Mike,” a shabu user who asked that his real name be withheld in this report, some Mapalad members just attend the sessions “because they receive rice and groceries. Otherwise, no one would show up for that.”

Who wouldn’t be afraid?

“I know people who attend but are still using drugs. I don’t know why (barangay officers) haven’t noticed,” he said.

Mike said he stopped being a user when Mr. Duterte became President in May. “Who wouldn’t be afraid? The President himself said he will kill all drug addicts.”

The 34-year-old said he would not risk his life by “surrendering now and being killed later in the night by mysterious men.”

He had also considered joining the Mapalad program for the sake of his wife and their child, but he said “small gifts won’t be a good bargain for my life.”

He said he would only surrender in the future when he already feels safe and “I know that I will stop using drugs for life.”

For Sumiller, it would already be the drug user’s fault if he passes up this opportunity to “change for the better.”

Since surrendering and becoming part of Mapalad, he said, his life “has become bearable and full of blessings.”

“My wife and I do not fight anymore. My children are playing with me. As a husband and a father, those are my most joyful moments,” he said.