DepEd mulls alternative learning system for drug users
Drug users who have surrendered would be provided with learning services as part of the government’s anti- illegal drug campaign, the Department of Education (DepEd) said yesterday.
“We have asked the Philippine National Police to provide us with information about the surrenderees. We want to know how many are of school age and out-of-school youth,” Education Secretary Leonor Briones said.
Briones said they are planning to bring the alternative learning system (ALS) to rehabilitation centers to support those who are recovering from drug addiction.
“They will have to be classified,” she said, referring to the need to conduct a survey among those who surrendered in different communities.
The classification of the possible learners will determine how DepEd would structure the program, which would be implemented while the government is still establishing the rehabilitations centers as ordered by President Duterte, Briones said.
She added that the expansion of ALS is one of the edu- cation priorities of the Duterte administration.
“This is an important program seeking to reintegrate out-of-school youth or basic education dropouts in the school system.”
Aside from implementing it in rehabilitation centers, Briones said they intend to strengthen the program in geographically challenging locations and for those who have no access to formal education, including illegal migrants in other countries.
She said DepEd currently has around P2.5 billion in unused funds, which can be utilized for the program.
DND re-greening program
Meanwhile, the Department of National Defense (DND) intends to use the services of the thousands of selfconfessed drug dependents up for rehabilitation in its continuing re-greening efforts of all military camps.
Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana said he is opening the doors of all huge military camps for drug dependents for rehabilitation.
The Armed Forces of the Philippines has been continuously transforming vacant spaces in most of its military camps into green areas by planting trees and vegetables under its re-greening program.
Troops are also deployed as forest rangers to safeguard the forests located inside military reservations in Mindanao and Central Luzon.
Earlier, the military admitted that they don’t have the expertise to deal with drug dependents but they could perform the job in partnership with concerned government agencies.
Brig. Gen. Restituto Padilla, AFP spokesman said that if allowed in the program, the military is willing to rehabilitate these self-confessed drug dependents by also subjecting them to basic military training.
Lorenzana said open spaces in its camps will be used for vegetable gardening and farming that drug dependents themselves will be doing, for them to have a job and become productive while undergoing rehabilitation.