Rehab center helps 724 persons get off drugs, provides hope to their kin
Program president says most graduates of faith-based SuGod rehabilitation program already have jobs and have reintegrated themselves into the community
About 724 former drug addicts finished the Surrender to God’s (SuGod) drug rehabilitation program since it started in August 2016.
SuGod president Fe Mantuhac Barino said the graduates have fully recovered and most of them already have jobs.
“We give the addicts scientific and spiritual intervention. We are helping them not because we fear their situation but for them to recover and live a new life,” Barino said.
“We can say that the war on drugs has given a positive impact because families who lost hope before are now confident that their loved ones will have a better future,” Barino said.
SuGod, a faith-based private initiative, is attached to the Catholic church and recognized by Cebu Archbishop Jose Palma, who monitors the result of the program.
The SuGod rehabilitation center started one month after the government launched a drug war on July 1, 2016.
She said what makes their center unique compared to others, especially those handled by the authorities, is that faith to God is in the center of the program.
Barino said this is the first time they will make a joint voice saying: “Recovery is a very great thing that will happen to a drug addict.”
She said the SuGod Center already rehabilitated 15 batches, with a total of 724 graduates. The 16th batch will start on Nov. 5, from 8 .a.m to 5 p.m. daily.
Barino also urged employers to give employees who are found to be drug addicts a chance and allow them to return to work after rehabilitation.
During their BIG (Be Intimate with God) Day celebration yesterday, SuGod and the Archdiocese of Cebu Catholic Charismatic Renewal Services held a day of praise and worship, healing and fellowship at IC3 Center in Mabolo, Cebu City.
The BIG Day aims to address the stigma of addiction by having the community accept, understand and support people with substance use disorder.
The BIG Day is held every fourth Sunday of the month.
Some of the graduates continue the program in other centers, while some are already working. Three had been murdered.
Last week, the Police Regional Office (PRO) 7 said that its anti-narcotics operations have killed 254 suspected drug personalities from July 1, 2016 to Oct. 1, 2018.
Chief Supt. Debold Sinas, PRO 7 director, welcomed any investigation to be conducted by the Commission on Human Rights (CHR) and other agencies, saying their operations were all legitimate. /
We can say that the war on drugs has given a positive impact because families who lost hope before are now confident that their loved ones will have a better future.
SUGOD PRESIDENT FE MANTUHAC BARINO