Conclusion
FURNITURE and appliances business owner Melanie, not her real name, thought her son Daniel will change once he has a family of his own.
After being released from a facility for drug rehabilitation in 10 months, Daniel offered to help in the family business by taking care of deliveries. But after collections were getting short, Melanie suspected her son has gone back to abusing narcotics. She hoped she was wrong when Daniel, not his real name, got married.
“Pero hindi pa rin. Naging palaasa na; kahit sa apo ko, lahat, ako na ang gumastos, [But he didn’t change for the better and became dependent on me for money. I spent for his children, for everything],” Melanie said.
According to Melanie, Daniel’s family stayed with her.
“Minsan nag-away silang mag-asawa at doon ko natuklasan na dalawa na pala silang mag-asawa ang gumagamit. Ang apo ko na nasa limang taon pa lang noon [One time I heard them quarrelling and discovered both of them were abusing illegal drugs. My grandchild was only five at that time].”
Melanie decided to buy a new house and brought her grandson to live with her. Her two other sons were already studying in Manila.
Doubts
MELANIE said her trust in Daniel was eroded with her son’s consistent lying.
One afternoon, Daniel went inside her office and asked her for money he said he would use to put up a business.
“I doubted him. I just made an excuse that there was no available money I could give him at that time,” Melanie told the BusinessMirror. “But what surprised me is his answer: ‘Then sell the house. You no longer live there. It’s too big for me and Linda [his wife]. I refused.”
She admitted that even if she left Daniel on his own she would still provide for the groceries and pay the water and electricity bills. Daniel’s wife is working as an office staff.
“Nahirapan din ako. Minsan wala naman masyadong benta. Mabuti na lang marami ring kaibigan na tumutulong sa akin at ipinagdarasal ako. [Life was not easy for me. Sometimes sales were few and far between. Luckily, I have friends who helped me and prayed for me].”
Arrrest
WHAT Melanie feared the most happened. Last year the authorities raided the house where Daniel was staying. The police caught Daniel and his friends using illegal drugs.
Daniel and his three friends are still in jail for drug offenses and are facing charges of violating Sections 5 and 12 of Republic Act 9165, or Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002.
“It is really very painful on my part, because as a mother, you only want the best for your children,” Melanie said adding she still hopes Daniel will be cured of his addiction.
“Tumatanda na ako. Paano na lang siya kapag nawala na ako, [I’m getting old. What would happen to him if I die],” she said, wiping her right eye before a tear dropped.
Money
IF Melanie can afford the rehabilitation of his son, it’s a different story for Elvie, 50, who works as a technician.
When his 18-year-old son Ivan was jailed for possession of illegal drugs, Elvie faced a conundrum: pay bail or feed her six other children. Being a single mother, Elvie opted for the latter.
“Siguro dahil nababarkada at doon nakahanap ng masasandalan dahil halos minsan lang kami kumakain [I guess he stayed with friends he can rely on for times when we really cannot afford a meal],” she told the BusinessMirror.
However, Elvie said Ivan began selling things to support his addiction: clothes iron, electric fan, newly bought clothes and shoes.
After serving his sentence, Ivan was brought by Elvie to a relative who is very religious. Her relative’s guidance, as well as a life in prison, helped jar Ivan to his senses, according to Elvie.
“Natakot [siya] na makulong ulit. Ayaw na rin niya balikan ang buhay niya sa kulungan. [He fears going back to prison. He said he doesn’t want to return to jail].”
Motivation
PHYSICIAN Clara Fuderanan said money remains the main problem of families seeking rehabilitation services for a member. Fuderanan, head of a Department of Health (DOH) unit addressing drug abuse, said they have patients who took illegal drugs to be able to work longer than eight hours.
“Para walang pagod pag nagtatrabaho, [gumagamit sila]. Pero kung pumasok sa rehab, ang iisipin ng tao paano na ang pamilya. [They take drugs to numb their body during work. Spending for rehabilitation, hence, is major consideration because they would be concerned where the family would get a source of income when the member is admitted to a facility],” said Fuderanan, who heads the DOH-Special Concerned Technical Cluster-Dangerous Drug Abuse Prevention and Treatment Program.
Services of privately-owned rehabilitation facilities are estimated by Fuderanan to cost from P20,000 to P30,000 per month.
The services include psychological and psychiatric evaluation, counseling and healing sessions, sports and recreational activities, therapy sessions and aftercare support groups, among others.
Support
FUDERANAN said for indigent patients, DOH-operated facilities tap the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (Tesda) for skills training.
“We really want to help them so that when they reintegrate into society they will have work,” Fuderanan said, adding it is also important for the family to undergo family counseling to determine what triggered the patient to take illegal drugs.
She said money, mainly the lack of it, is also a major factor that causes patients to relapse during the recovery period.
Myrna Lopez-Roces of the Philippine Psychiatric Association said it is very important that the family will give not only financial, but moral support to the patient.
“It is also important to let them [patients] know or remember their inner strength,” Roces said. She cautioned, however, it would be very difficult for the patient to regain the trust of the family.
Procedure
GOVERNMENT health officials said after surrendering to the police and being profiled, a drug user will be referred to the city or municipal health officer for initial assessment.
The drug user will then be referred to doctors accredited by the Department of Health (DOH) and were trained on how to deal with users of illegal drugs, who will be considered patients.
Patients who need an addiction-rehabilitation program will then be recommended to a rehabilitation center. The patient will choose either being admitted to a government-run center or a private facility.
Fuderanan said the aftercare session will last six months but not more than eight months. “Wala silang pamasahe. So dito na pumapasok ang DSWD [Department of Social Welfare and Development] para mabigyan sila ng pamasahe para bumalik sa session sa rehab center [They don’t have cab fare. The DSWD would provide them money so they can attend their session at the rehabilitation center].”
According to Health Secretary Paulyn Jean B. Rosell-Ubial, the fund to address rehabilitation of drug dependents would come from the present budget of the DOH, as well as the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. (Pagcor).
Ubial said they are eyeing around P1 billion from Pagcor to establish treatment and rehabilitation centers for an estimated 1.8 million drug dependents in the country.
Tesda
THE Tesda recently announced it is opening its training centers all over the country to help drug dependents and dealers get hooked on a different addiction—skills training.
“This is in response to reports that convicts and inmates resort to their old trades after serving time in jail because they have no other means of livelihood,” said Guiling Mamondiong, the newly appointed Tesda director general.
Mamondiong said he has directed the agency’s regional and provincial directors to coordinate with the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) and the Philippine National Police (PNP) in the implementation of the initiative.
“We will work hand in hand with the DILG and the PNP in identifying the beneficiaries and the skills training that may be available to them,” he said.
“This is one way of helping them get clean and stay clean,” the new Tesda chief added. Mamondiong said the Duterte administration’s war on drugs should not only involve stamping out the drug syndicates and pushers but should also be comprehensive in nature. This nature, Mamondiong said, involves rehabilitation of those who desire a new life.
Introducing them to skills training, he added, will tap their potentials and make them realize their value to their families and to society.
“When armed with skills and the opportunity to be engaged in livelihood or get employed and earn money, these drug users and pushers will be transformed,” Mamondiong said.
He added that, sometimes, all the people in distress needs is another chance.