{"id":180227,"date":"2018-09-06T05:20:17","date_gmt":"2018-09-06T09:20:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/?p=180227"},"modified":"2018-09-06T05:29:40","modified_gmt":"2018-09-06T09:29:40","slug":"pcoo-enjoins-diplomats-look-beyond-drug-wars-perception","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/2018\/09\/06\/pcoo-enjoins-diplomats-look-beyond-drug-wars-perception\/","title":{"rendered":"PCOO enjoins diplomats to look beyond drug war\u2019s perception"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/a>
PCOO Assistant Secretary Ramon Cualoping III speaks before diplomats in a briefing on human rights-related issues at the Department of Foreign Affairs on Wednesday (Sept. 5, 2018). (PNA Photo)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

MANILA<\/strong>\u00a0— An official of the Presidential Communications Operations Office (PCOO) on Wednesday enjoined diplomats to look beyond the Duterte administration\u2019s drug war, noting that there was much more the government is doing in terms of rehabilitating former drug dependents and reintegrating them into society.<\/p>\n

PCOO Assistant Secretary Ramon Cualoping III made this call during a diplomatic briefing on human rights-related issues held at the Department of Foreign Affairs.<\/p>\n

The briefing was attended by representatives from the European Union and its member states, Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and its member states, Canada, and the United Nations.<\/p>\n

\u201cEnforcement of anti-illegal drug laws actually just comprise 10 percent of the government\u2019s campaign against illegal drugs. Ninety percent of the government\u2019s mandate focuses on rehabilitation, reintegration, justice, and advocacy,\u201d Cualoping said.<\/p>\n

Cualoping said aside from the drug war, the government is also undertaking measures to reintegrate into society former drug dependents on top of what is currently being done by law enforcement authorities.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat is the reason why\u00a0Rehabinasyon<\/em>\u00a0has been launched. The government aims to undertake effective measures to reintegrate into society those who have fallen prey to the drug menace while ridding the streets of illegal drugs,\u201d Cualoping said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThrough Rehabinasyon, the government enjoins several agencies, barangay councils, civil society, and religious-based organizations, and the international community to embrace those who have lost their way and provide them opportunities for reformation and social integration,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

Rehabinasyon, which was launched on June 21, 2017, is the government\u2019s all-encompassing communication campaign against illegal drugs, anchored on the Philippine Anti-Drug Strategy of the Dangerous Drugs Board. The program also gives importance to the rehabilitation of drug surrenderers.<\/p>\n

The Department of Health (DOH), he said, continues to spearhead the construction of more drug abuse treatment and rehabilitation centers across the Philippines.<\/p>\n

There is also a hotline, 155, to cater to drug dependents who seek help.<\/p>\n

The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) has been providing a training course to former drug dependents to be skilled volunteers at the forefront of disaster relief efforts.<\/p>\n

Other agencies under the rehabilitation and reintegration cluster of the inter-agency continue to provide livelihood and skills training programs.<\/p>\n

The Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) has intensified its efforts in assuring that all\u00a0barangays<\/em>\u00a0(villages) have activated anti-drug abuse councils and implement community-based rehabilitation and treatment facilities to accommodate mild cases of drug dependents.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, Cualoping said that other agencies also continue to ensure that accountability and justice is served to erring enforces.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe government assures our friends in the diplomatic community that it is not the government\u2019s policy to sanction killings, hence, our commitment to go after the rogue cops,\u201d Cualoping said.<\/p>\n

Cualoping reminded diplomats that the Philippines\u2019 drug problem is \u201clarger than more of us have ever imagined\u201d noting that the number of people affected was similar as the population of some European or ASEAN states.<\/p>\n

In closing, he asked diplomats to support the\u00a0Rehabinasyon<\/em>\u00a0program, describing it as \u201can investment for the future.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe enjoin you to continue supporting our government\u2019s programs that will benefit what is best for the greatest number of people,\u201d Cualoping said.<\/p>\n

\u201cAfter all, this is an investment for the future, all hinged on the vision of President Duterte for a comfortable life for all Filipinos,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

Officials from DOH, DILG, Dangerous Drugs Board, Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency, and Office of the President were also present during the event.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

MANILA\u00a0— An official of the Presidential Communications Operations Office (PCOO) on Wednesday enjoined diplomats to look beyond the Duterte administration\u2019s …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":44,"featured_media":180228,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[16,95],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-180227","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-news","category-news-ph","mauthors-philippine-news-agency"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/180227","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/44"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=180227"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/180227\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/180228"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=180227"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=180227"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=180227"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}