THE PHILIPPINE Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) XI has intensified its anti-drug abuse prevention education lecture in different schools in the region in line with the children’s month.
Moreover, the agency also recorded 49 minors rescued following their involvement in illegal drugs.
Speaking in yesterday’s Kapihan sa SM, PDEA XI spokesperson Nephi Noli Dimaandal, said they have lined up various activities in the region relating to the anti-drug campaign.
The PDEA XI already started the campaign against illegal drugs, including storytelling and room-to-room anti-drug abuse prevention lectures.
Dimaandal said their data explicitly showed that minors are vulnerable to being involved in the drug trade. From January to October this year, they already rescued 45 boys and four girls who were used as couriers and runners. Some of them were drug den visitors and users.
One operation conducted by PDEA Davao del Norte and Davao de Oro revealed that the father taught his minor child how to sell drugs.
“That’s the reason why we intensified our campaign against illegal drugs, particularly in giving education to students. As of now, we focus more on schools since there is the presence of the criminal justice law interns from the University of Mindanao, so we coordinated with all schools in Davao Region,” Dimaandal said.
“But so far, here in Davao City, what we have done is we are slowly knocking on doors in schools just to conduct the anti-drug abuse prevention education lecture,” he said.
He explained that the campaign is not a symposium type but a room-to-room lecture on the ill effects of dangerous drugs and the salient provisions of RA 9165 ( Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002).
“We focus more on storytelling for kinder and grade 1, and for room-to-room are grades 3, 4, 5, and 6,” he further said.
“We also emphasized to them not to talk with strangers or give them a chance to exploit them,” he added.
On Nov. 3, they conducted 19 room-to-room lectures in Bolton elementary schools and 22 in Cesario Villa Abrille Elementary School.
Moreover, he said they are expecting that before the end of the month they will conduct lecture in more schools in the region.
