CALAPAN CITY, Oriental Mindoro (PIA) — The Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) presses its appeal to local government units to establish a Balay Silangan Reformation Center (Balay Silangan) in their area to cater to the needs for reformation of drug surrenderers.
During the meeting of the Regional Inter-agency Committee on Anti-illegal Drugs (ICAD) Advocacy Cluster on February 21, Gracel Domingo of PDEA MIMAROPA emphasized the importance of Balay Silangan not only for the reintegration of the drug surrenderers but also as one of the important requirements for a city, municipality or province to be declared as drug cleared.
The Balay Silangan Reformation Program (BSRP) is a collaborative effort of the local government units (LGUs) and other stakeholders in the government’s campaign against illegal drugs.
Records from PDEA MIMAROPA show that there are 24 Balay Silangan that were established in the region. All these Balay Silangan Reformation Centers are managed by the LGUs.
Of the total Balay Silangan in MIMAROPA, eight are in Oriental Mindoro (Naujan, Gloria, Calapan City, Pinamalayan, Socorro, Puerto Galera, Pola, and Bansud); two in Occidental Mindoro (Mamburao and Sablayan); one in Boac town, Marinduque; one in Capaclan town, Romblon; and 12 towns in Palawan (Quezon, Roxas, Sofronio Española, Barangay Poblacion in Narra, Barangay Antipuluan in Narra, Rizal, Brooke’s Point, Taytay, Coron, Culion, Barangay Pangobilan Brooke’s Point and Puerto Princesa City).
In Oriental Mindoro, the said municipalities and city have established their Balay Silangan, while in the provinces of Occidental Mindoro, Marinduque and Romblon, all municipalities have signed a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) with their respective provincial governments.
In Palawan, the town of Bataraza has an existing MOA with Brooke’s Point; the town of Aborlan with MOA to the town of Narra, and the town of El Nido with MOA with the municipality of Taytay. The remaining six municipalities and Puerto Princesa City have their own established Balay Silangan.
Meanwhile, Domingo said the initiative provides a structured rehabilitation program focusing on skills training, psychological counseling, and values formation to help former drug dependents reintegrate into society as productive citizens.
With the joint efforts in the promotion and establishment of Balay Silangan, the program promotes multi-sectoral collaboration involving LGUs, PDEA, and other government agencies and stakeholders to support reformed individuals.
Among these government agencies are the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG), Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), Department of Health (DOH), Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA), Department of Education (DepEd), Philippine National Police (PNP), Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), and Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP).
Moreover, the initiative of establishing Balay Silangan is part of the government’s anti-drug campaign, fostering safer and healthier communities by reforming individuals involved in illegal drug activities. (LTC/PIA MIMAROPA)
