1,562 SJ students complete anti-drug course

A total of 1,562 students from seven of the eight public schools in San Juan City (SJ) will graduate from the Drug Abuse Resistance Education (DARE) program on Feb. 21, 2019.

The city police said 1,562 student from grades 5 and 6 would be given certificates of completion for undergoing a 24-week extensive course that aimed to fully elaborate to students the bad effects of illegal substance consumption to one’s health as well its effects on their family, friends and neighbors.

Of the graduating students, 740 are grade 6 while 822 are grade 5 pupils.

San Juan City Mayor Guia Gomez and Vice Mayor Janella Estrada will be giving the graduating students their certificates of completion.

San Juan City police chief Senior Supt. Dindo Reyes said he hoped the DARE program would be implemented all over the country so the youth would realize the very bad effects of drug use.

“It’s very effective regarding the bad effects of illegal substance and how to avoid it by our youth, especially our young students,” Chief Insp. Virgilio Timajo, Eastern Police District media bureau chief, told TheManilaTimes.

The primary goal of the program is to teach effective peer resistance and strengthen the refusal skills of Filipino youth, so they can say “no” to trying and using drugs.

This would enable them to grow into healthy, self-reliant and confident individuals without having to depend on harmful substances, drugs, tobacco and similar substances, Timajo said.

The program was introduced in 2016 to different schools across the country in support of the government’s drug campaign.

Every officer of the program, who teaches grade school students about the effects of drug use, undergo a 10-day livein training where they are provided lessons on classroom management, teaching strategies, communication skills, adolescent development, drug information, and thorough instruction on DARE’s 10 lessons.

Through the Station Community Affairs and Development Unit, in coordination with the teachers and parents, officers of the program get involved in the 24-week program wherein they teach children the skills needed to recognize and resist the pressure to experiment with illegal drugs.