Resurface for rehab, druggies told

CLARK FREEPORT—An interagency task force has drafted a joint memorandum circular compelling all confessed drug users to again turn themselves in to authorities and undergo rehabilitation, officials announced here this week.

John Castriciones, undersecretary for operations of the Department of the Interior and Local Government, said the memorandum takes into account drug surrenderers who have changed residences.

“If they refuse to be rehabilitated, they will be prosecuted,” Castriciones, who attended a regional drug summit here on Wednesday, told reporters.

Health Secretary Paulyn Jean Rosell-Ubial, during the summit, said more than a million drug users had surrendered to authorities under  the government’s intensified war on drugs.

Castriciones said users, who surrendered earlier to the police or local government and village officials, had expressed reservations about undergoing rehabilitation, fearing they would be labeled as criminals.

Dr. Benjamin Reyes, chair of the Dangerous Drugs Board, said, “We care for them. We want them to be reintegrated into society. We want to dispel the stigma. We want users to avail of services. We will be treating their cases with high level of confidentiality.”

Reyes said the surrenderers should present themselves to chairs of the barangay antidrug abuse councils. The councils, in turn, will refer them to local government personnel trained by the Department of Health to screen people requiring rehabilitation in government-run facilities. —TONETTE OREJAS