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29,016 DRUG USERS, PUSHERS, GET TREATMENT, REHABILITATION AND INTERVENTION

By: Victor Baldemor Ruiz

A total of 29,016 personalities consisting of 25,789 Persons Who Use Drugs, or PWUDs, and 3,227 drug pushers who have submitted themselves to the rehabilitation and reformation programs of the government, have received appropriate interventions from the 1,314 barangays declared as drug-cleared in 2024.

Of the 25,789 PWUDs, 16,494 graduated from the Community-Based Drug Rehabilitation Program and 9,063 from general intervention programs, both localized programs in the barangays, while 232 underwent the recovery process through accredited Drug Abuse Treatment and Rehabilitation Centers in the country.

As to 3,227 drug pushers, 749 of them have graduated while 79 are still undergoing reformation under the Balay Silangan Reformation Program. The rest have already executed their Affidavit of Undertaking, but are waiting to be accommodated.


Balay Silangan is the national drug reformation program that offers temporary refuge to drug pushers who voluntarily surrendered to authorities and plea bargainers to transform them into self-sufficient and law-abiding members of society.

General interventions in the form of health awareness activities such as counseling, moral recovery, values formation, life skills, among others, are provided under the Balay Silangan program. Livelihood and skills trainings are also available to give employment opportunities to drug reformers.

Since the inception of the Balay Silangan Reformation Program in 2018, a total of 595 reformation centers were established across the country. Thanks to the efforts of PDEA Regional Offices and strong support from the local government units, other government agencies and generous stakeholders. Sixty-three of these reformatory facilities were built in 2024 alone.

Apart from strategies involving illegal drugs supply reduction and prevention, the government is putting more weight on the rehabilitation and promotion of a stigma-free campaign for drug offenders, in a bid to address the drug problem. Helping drug dependents recover from the habit and creating alternative employment prospects for drug sellers to prevent them from depending on illegal drug activities, reduce their likelihood to commit crimes.


Drug abuse and sale are prevalent among the unemployed. Drug use narrows chances to land or remain on the job, while inadequate employment possibilities favor drug consumption and peddling alike, thus a vicious cycle exists.

To break free from the cycle, PDEA and other stakeholders of the national anti-drug campaign, is giving as many opportunities as possible for drug offenders to rebuild their lives so long as they show the commitment and motivation to change.

Tags: PDEA

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