Fully human

Call it corporate social responsibility, civic sense, or Christian duty.

Or perhaps even, among anxious business executives, good business sense. The fact is that equities in the Philippines, which initially soared after Rodrigo Duterte won the presidency in May, experienced their steepest drop in August, with investors putting it down to jitters caused by the extrajudicial killings occurring in the administration’s “war on drugs.” Said one analyst: “If there is a feeling that the rule of law is going out the window in the Philippines, then this would not be good news.”

Whatever the reason, the plan of 13 of the country’s biggest businesses to help the administration set up drug rehabilitation centers nationwide—as announced by Interior Undersecretary for Operations John Castriciones—is a most welcome development. Donations from these businesses would go toward the construction of four rehabilitation centers—two in Luzon, one in the Visayas and another in Mindanao, with each center projected to accommodate at least 500 drug dependents.

Castriciones said the comprehensive rehabilitation plan with the private sector addresses the reform and recovery of some 10 percent, or 70,000, drug users who have surrendered under the administration’s campaign against illegal drugs.

According to the Dangerous Drugs Board (DDB), there are only 15 government-run rehab centers accredited with the Department of Health. President Duterte said in previous interviews that he planned to use military camps and facilities as a stopgap measure until the government can build drug rehab facilities all over the country.

San Miguel Corp. president Ramon Ang, one of the business entities contributing to the rehab plan, said in a statement that “in the fight against illegal drugs, rehabilitation is crucial to providing drug dependents a chance at restoring their lives and becoming part of the solution to a better Philippines.”

Indeed, the modern penal system allows for a less punitive and more rehabilitative approach, in the belief that even criminals deserve another chance to mend their ways and redeem themselves. This is particularly true of drug users who, data from the DDB show, are often men aged 20-29, married, employed, and have reached at least the high school level. Imagine the energy, skills and ideas that they can contribute to society should they be provided with new skills, training and the opportunity to pursue higher education.

Surely this is a more enlightened way of dealing with drug users, whose humanity has been questioned by Mr. Duterte himself. His supporters say he was just engaging in rhetoric, yet what a dangerous pronouncement it was, especially coming from the President. Because if indeed drug users have become less than human, then the message was: Good riddance; who needs them?

And yet, despite his harsh words, the President’s initiatives in Davao City when he was its mayor might make for a good model for the rehabilitation centers that the donations of business leaders would make possible. Those centers have an “after-care” program where rehabilitated patients can slowly be reintegrated into society, through the social welfare department’s cash-for-work program or Tesda’s livelihood training program for former drug dependents.

Coordination with the DOH is just as important, to ensure that these centers are correctly staffed with medical personnel who can attend to the physical, mental and psychological needs of the patients, such as doctors, nurses, counselors and psychologists. Studies suggest, after all, that drug use or abuse is the result of several factors, including lack of self-esteem and feelings of inadequacy.

Which also makes it crucial for rehab programs to be a full-blown project in barangays, to include appropriate activities in the community with the long-range objective of keeping minors away from the drug habit by keeping them busy with productive pursuits and leisure. Educational opportunities and job generation should be woven into the rehab program, too, to help drug users move forward and out of the cycle of dependence that this dangerous habit might breed.

Instead of being dismissed—or eliminated—as the dregs of society, drug users and dependents can definitely benefit from rehab programs and alternative solutions that recognize, respect and stoke their humanity.