A CONSPIRACY OF SILENCE

For The Bohol Tribune

In This Our Journey

NESTOR MANIEBO PESTELOS

From the euphoria of being greeted last week by hundreds of Facebook friends on our 73^rd birthday, we have been suffering emotional reversals lately for receiving almost zero support to our advocacy that we build a drug rehabilitation center in Bohol to address present and future problems caused by the alarming increase of illegal drug users in the province.

I think most people believe that effective law enforcement and good parenting will be enough to solve this problem. Surely these two measures can help by addressing the supply and demand side of the illegal drug trade. Equally important, however, is to address existing and potential social problems created by having hundreds of drug abusers in practically all barangays in the province.

Our fellow columnist, Donald Borja Sevilla, notes in his column last week that the drug abuse problem “continues to plague and haunt us like cancer eating us from within.” He also validates what everyone of us seems to know, although we do not speak of it openly: “The problem is far reaching that nary a community is without a pusher or user.”  In many cases, according to some informants, the users become pushers to be able to afford the high costs of drugs.

The net objective effect of such a problem is that more than 50% of crimes committed in Bohol are drug-related, according to recent media accounts citing police reports. And this fact should be enough to prod us to action. It is quite significant to note that the drug-related killings and the images of young people shot dead in broad daylight in busy streets in the city, and those in other streets of distant towns or barangays, have not resulted in any kind of moral outrage on the part of Boholanos in general.

There seems be a conspiracy of silence among most sectors regarding this growing drug menace in our midst. We have not heard the collective voice of the Churches and religious groups, political parties and their leaders, the youth and their campus and off-campus organizations.

Our advocacy, as articulated in previous columns, is that we must do something about making available treatment services to as many drug abusers now, especially those coming from indigent families and remote communities who cannot afford  the high costs of such treatment in the cities of Cebu, Manila, Davao, and Tagaytay.

If we do not build our own drug rehabilitation center in Bohol, preferably run by the private sector, but enjoying the combined support of the Government, the Church, civil society, and academic institutions, the social problems created by the increased use of illicit drugs , such as rising crimes, wasted human resources mostly among the affected youth, as well as more unemployment and dependency, will be impossible to address in the coming years.

Since December last year, we have consulted with representatives of various sectors and spent hours over several months studying the operations of a noted drug rehabilitation center in Davao, and have formulated a total of five draft proposals on how we can establish a similar facility in our province, but except for a few comments from friends, these proposals have not merited any kind of serious attention from representatives of key sectors in our province.

In the latest draft proposal which we submitted last week, and published in the social media, we reduced the time frame from three years to one year in building the basic infrastructure for a rehabilitation center; at least one outreach and drop-in center preferably based in a faith-based organization during the initial period; providing for remuneration of the medical and administrative support staff; training the core staff and community facilitators who will run future drop-in centers and conduct as soon as possible an intensive campaign on drug prevention and treatment; and the conduct of a fund campaign to produce a trust fund to support clients from indigent families and remote communities.

The total cost of the project has been reduced from Php 40 million to Php 15 million  In our opinion, the important  thing is to build soonest the drug rehabilitation facility and at least one outreach and drop-in center so that the paid staff and volunteers will gain additional skills and confidence in conducting consultations, assessment and referrals, as well as performing treatment and post-treatment tasks, as soon as possible.  

Despite the vast silence that has greeted our draft proposals up to this time since five months ago, we have remained optimistic that on their own the key sectors are actually working out something to address the problems that we all think will get worst as more people with drug abuse problems go untreated with their brain damaged severely due to addiction.

At some future time, the skewed perspective of drug abuse victims on their increasingly broken relationship with their family, community and ultimately their own selves shall have caused profound damage to society in general.  Perhaps it will be the time that majority of us will have the motivation to act on behalf of our beloved province.

By that time, we are definitely wiser but too senile to be bothered by not being able to succeed in our advocacy early enough. #Boholrehab

NMP/16 Apr 2015/10.05 p.m. 

INNOVATIVE FEATURES OF THE PROPOSED NDRC BOHOL

For The Bohol Tribune

In This Our Journey

NESTOR MANIEBO PESTELOS

In the draft document we submitted on behalf of our NGO early this week to the prospective partners (Diocese of Tagbilaran, Holy Name University, Kasing Sining, and the Provincial Government of Bohol) of the proposed New Day Resource Center (NDRC) Bohol patterned after a similar institution in Davao City, we recommended several  key features:

On Financial Sustainability

NDRC Davao, a noted rehabilitation and psychological services facility which is part of an international network of similar institutions, will manage NDRC Bohol as a business enterprise to ensure long-term sustainability. This feature will also discourage political interference in the admission of clients, who will be charged fees as is the practice in Davao City.

As principal investor and key management player, NDRC Davao will solicit investments from individuals and private sector or commercial entities. These investors will be represented in the Board of Directors or the Management Committee selected on the basis of specific criteria, which will take into account  the objective to ensure broad-based participation in policymaking and inclusion of social responsibility in the pursuit of financial viability.  

Its use of land and other resources made available through donations from other stakeholders will be subject to terms and conditions that will provide opportunities to pay for the expenses of clients from indigent families.

The other partners will raise funds or engage in livelihood or social enterprises to be able to refer and support clients from disadvantaged households and remote communities. The overall objective is to identify and remove barriers to low-cost, effective and evidence-based treatment services in ways that also ensure financial viability in the provision of treatment services.

The Bohol Local Development Foundation, Inc. (BLDF) will coordinate efforts on behalf of the Diocese of Tagbilaran to develop capabilities of local NGOs and academic institutions, especially those with Psychology and health-related courses, to handle a whole range of pre-treatment activities, including  increasing public awareness on drug addiction and its negative impact on the family and the community.

On Increasing Access to Quality Services by Clients from Indigent Families

While NDRC Bohol will build two vital facilities, a drug rehabilitation center cum mental health facility, it is highly recommended that a network of Outreach and Drop-In Centers (ODICs) be established to provide the missing link between the community and the service providers.  Such a community-based facility has been pioneered starting in 2005 by the Colombo Plan for Economic and Social Development in Asia and the Pacific under its Drug Advisory Program (DAP).

Under the proposed NDRC Bohol, the ODICs will be known as the New Day Drop-In Centers (NDDCs) to be established initially in Barangay Chapels or Parishes and later in Barangay Health Centers, Hospitals or Clinics, government or private. Through NDRC Davao, expertise will be sourced from the DAP to help in establishing the NDDCs.

These local NDDCs will fill an urgent need for a community-based facility with trained and committed staff to serve as initial contact with local communities and households. These community-based facilities will serve in effect as satellite centers responsible for the following: initial consultation and evaluation of potential clients; screening and assessment; case management; and equally important, a focal point for promoting and sustaining awareness about drug addiction and mental health among target sectors, such as the youth in both urban and rural areas.

We have recommended that at least a paid staff at each Drop-In Center be trained accountable to a senior officer, e.g. the Parish Priest or the head of the host government agency or NGO for the facility.

Trained volunteers and facilitators will be assigned to the Drop-in Centers to cope with the expected number of potential NDRC Bohol clients in a given area.

Through NDRC Davao, expertise from the Colombo Plan, World Health Organization and the UN Office for Drugs and Crimes can be accessed in making these community-based centers operational. During the initial year, the Diocese of Tagbilaran can take the lead in setting up such centers in close partnership with the local community and the LGUs as mobilized by the Provincial Government of Bohol and the City Government of Tagbilaran.

It is proposed that at this contact point between NDRC Bohol and the community, the paid staff should be either a Psychology graduate or a Social Worker. It will be useful to take note what the Colombo Plan Secretariat says  in its website :

“There is a definite need of a service model that can comprehensively implement outreach activities for those known as the hidden population, who have difficulty accessing correct information regarding addiction treatment as well as intervention. With expected outcomes, those who can be reached can be motivated to access other services that may be suitable for them.”

Equally important is the following observation which validates the need for professional services be made available to as close to the target families and communities as possible:

“Drug addiction is not the only issue for affected individuals; there will be underlying issues which lead them to addiction and other diseases. Therefore, due to such concerns, there is an urgent need for services and treatment centres which will be able to handle such cases comprehensively by managing them appropriately and providing physical and psychological treatment, along with equipping individuals with skills to overcome social problem, which will help them achieve their recovery.”

Helping establish the community-based Drop-In Centers will be a vital undertaking to pursue for the Diocese of Tagbilaran, the Provincial Government of Bohol and its component municipal and barangay LGUs, the Tagbilaran LGU, academic institutions and the NGOs in their common efforts to find a comprehensive strategy to address social problems brought about by drug addiction and alcoholism mostly among its young population.

In my meeting with Fr. Fernando Po, who has been involved with housing for earthquake victims in several municipalities, as well as otherinitiatives for the elderly, women and children in Panglao, he and the volunteers with him have launched a movement aimed at creating awareness about drug addiction among the youth of Tagbilaran City. He says his group will support the current campaign to build NDRC Bohol to address a long-felt need in the city and the province.

The proposal that we submitted to key partners for their consideration include several features not found in the current program of NDRC Davao which can be an enhancement of the drug treatment and mental health therapy model.

To address the need for a systematic program to ensure full integration of the healed drug dependents to the community and the family, we have recommended the creation or development of a New Day Village to consist of the following innovative features: 

  1)     A Livelihood Center (to be developed as the New Day Community

          College in the future) and an organic farm to engage NDRC clients in 

          productive activities as part of their therapy or as half-way resource

          center prior to their full integration to their communities and families to

          equip them with employable  or entrepreneurship skills.

    2)   The New Day Community Theatre (NDCT) to complement on-site

           presentations by Kasing Sining with a regular venue for

           cultural shows , workshops, interactive fora and other advocacy

           presentations. At various stages of the healing process, NDCT will also

           feature presentations of clients whenever it is appropriate or feasible to

           do so.

           NDCT will offer regular shows designed to raise awareness about issues

           relevant to advocacy themes and treatment and post-treatment issues

           and help raise awareness about the respective roles of stakeholders in

           the healing process.

       3)  The New Day Volunteers Resource Center (NDVRC)  

           The Project will implement a systematic recruitment and deployment of    

           volunteers to serve in NDRC Bohol and the various NDDCs that will be

           organized at local level.

            Universities and Colleges in Bohol will be encouraged to establish a

            Volunteers Resource Center to ensure a common pool of information

            officers with skills to recruit and train youth volunteers.

             An Inter-Faith Youth Council will be organized to support the NDVRC.   

Note: The New Day Village and its components will be created on a 1.2-ha. property in Manggool, San Isidro, Baclayon, the use of which will be made available through our NGO, the Bohol Local Development Foundation (BLDF).

May we all be guided by the Divine Spirit in finding a way out of the darkness to a much-deserved New Day in Bohol, our beloved province. #Newdaybohol

NMP/08Apr2015/6.09 a.m. 

WORKING FOR A NEW DAY IN BOHOL

For The Bohol Tribune

In This Our Journey

NESTOR MANIEBO PESTELOS

Thursday it is and I am aware I am writing this column for Sunday, which is Easter, a celebration for the Risen Christ, a symbol of hope and redemption for Christians. I am sure other religions have similar symbols for what is basically a faith in the resilience of the human spirit although expressed in different ways.

The other evening, Holy Wednesday, I watched from a window the procession passing below, a scene many of us here in our town, Baclayon, never failed to watch or join year after year. Someone from us here on this particular evening, among those relegated to the role of viewers  due to arthritic knees or whatever ails the flesh or spirit, had the good sense to count the number of carosas or floats/carriages and reported that there were 19 in all.

The subliminal message from the loud announcement of the number seemed to be - our faith remains secure despite the seemingly insurmountable problems which tend to shake our sense of well-being and faith in our capacity to look after one another. I could almost hear the unspoken message: see it was only 17 last year!

As in similar processions for other religious occasions, each carriage was decorated with candles and fresh flowers and there was the sculpted image of Jesus, the Virgin Mary or the saints whose carriage was prepared for the occasion by a family or a barangay. 

Yes, it takes more than a village to maintain such an elaborate religious procession, complete with floats and clusters of people following each carriage, alternately singing and saying their prayers. As I watched from the window nursing a sore knee from going up and down the stairs in my in-laws’ place, it occurred to me that as surely as there is the gloom during the first few days of Lent, a new day awaits us in the end, our faith in ourselves intact and a new surge of energy propelling us to pursue our dream.

I told myself repeatedly after the procession that surely a community which can galvanize support from individuals and families to organize participation in an elaborate traditional ritual such as a religious procession has the subjective force in the form of a collective will to pursue any dream at all consistent with a religious conviction or a development objective.

I brought to this Wednesday night the cross that I and a few friends have been carrying the most part of 2014 until this year: the knowledge that the so-called drug menace in Bohol has actually become a major social monster ready to devour us if we do not get our acts together. Since 20 April 2014 when we started monitoring this problem through a compilation of clippings from three newspapers in the province, until our last entry on 29 March 2015, drug-related news stories reached 107, mostly on killings and arrests of what the media call “drug personalities.”

 Except for one editorial and a column, there seemed to be a grand silence about what is generally perceived as a controversial issue or a tendency to be laid-back about the torrents of drug-related news regarding events which may have succeeded to bring about a feeling of helplessness among many people. I have written about this issue three times in this column: “The ‘Terrorism of Gossip’ and the Drug Menace in Bohol” (24 -25 Jan 2015); “The Road Not Taken”, 21 – 22 Feb 2015); “A Challenge to NGOs in Bohol”, 22 – 28 Mar 2015). Not a single feedback except from my wife and close friends, mostly in dismay and sympathy!

Perhaps it is again worth clarifying here that our cause is to address the social problems brought about by the increasing number of those with drug addiction in the province. We leave the identification and arrest of those involved in the illegal drug trade to the Government which is mandated to perform this role.

Our NGO, the Bohol Local Development Foundation, Inc., successor of the UNICEF-assisted Ilaw International Center, is committed to the cause of helping build the New Day Recovery Center Bohol patterned after a similar facility in Davao City. The Diocese of Tagbilaran has encouraged us to submit a detailed proposal towards this end which BLDF is now doing with the full participation of colleagues from NDRC Davao. Hopefully, by next week, we will be able to submit the detailed proposal based on a concept approved by our other key partners, Holy Name University and the Kasing-Sining Association.

As we have discussed with colleagues from the Government, CSOs, including NGOs and the academe, we subscribe to the following principles of the United Nations in translating the concept we submitted to key partners into a workable and sustainable framework for project preparation which will lead to the establishment of the proposed NDRC :

·         Drug dependence is a complex and multidimensional disorder involving individual, cultural, biological, social and environmental factors.

·         Drug dependence is as much a disorder of the brain as any other neurological or psychiatric illness.

·         One of the main barriers to treatment and care is the stigma and discrimination associated with this treatable health disorder.

·         Drug dependence treatment needs a comprehensive, multidisciplinary approach including both pharmacological and psychosocial interventions.

·         Drug dependence can be treated effectively with low-cost medications and standardized psychological therapies.

BLDF and its key partners (Diocese of Tagbilaran, NDRC Davao, Holy Name University, Kasing Sining Association} agree with the UN that our goal is to “ remove barriers to low-cost, effective and evidence-based drug treatment services … and to provide diversified, effective and quality drug dependence treatment and rehabilitation services.”

In the pursuit of this goal, BLDF as a pro-poor NGO, will join counterparts from the Government, CSOs and faith-based organizations, in ensuring that victims of drug abuse and other addictions will have access to quality pre-treatment and treatment services as those given to clients whose families can afford the costs of quality services.

 According to the UN Office for Drugs and Crimes, the strategy to achieve this goal will include three lines of action:

Advocacy

• Promoting a sound understanding of drug dependence treatment and care …  and the recognition of drug dependence as a health disorder that requires a multidisciplinary and comprehensive approach;

Capacity Building

• Improving the technical skills and capacity of drug dependence treatment and care service providers . . . through a "train the trainers" approach

• Through the training of trainers approach, a mobile core team of trainers  will train service providers or NDRC community facilitators in their own communities.

Service Improvement

• Supporting the development and improvement of evidence-based treatment and care services that provide a continuum of care objective to treatment at the local level

• Provincial and sub-provincial networks of governments, treatment centres, primary health care services, universities and NGOs will disseminate evidence-based good practice in drug dependence treatment that includes accessibility to treatment alongside social integration and rehabilitation.

With the support of NDRC Davao, and with the encouragement of the Diocese of Tagbilaran, we are now on the final stage of preparing a detailed project document on the proposed New Day Recovery Center (NDRC) Bohol. There is a role for Government, the private sector and civil society in this project that will hopefully bring about a new day in our province after the initial gloomy days of our journey towards deliverance from these social ills which now afflict us. #newdaybohol.  –

NMP/02Apr2015/3.58 p.m.