The event was the first to be held in the Central Visayas, and it was attended by the personnel of the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG 7) Mandaue office.
The program’s launching was simultaneously held with the culminating activity of the city’s Women’s Day celebration dubbed Women’s Summit, which was attended by Mandaue City officials and DILG City Director Johnjoan Mende and Regional Director Leocadio Trovela.
According to MCSAPO Chief and lawyer Ebenezer Daryl Manzano, the initiative is crucial in preventing illegal drug use among women in society.
In 2022, the Mandaue City Police Office (MCPO) recorded 1,796 drug-related cases.
In a data sent by MCPO to SunStar Cebu on Saturday, April 22, 2023, it showed that the 1,748 of the suspects apprehended were men and 48 were women.
From January to March this year, the MCPO logged 559 cases of illegal drugs, 11 of which included female suspects.
Meanwhile, the Bida program focuses on three key areas: community, barangay, and school-based.
In the community level, the MCSAPO will measure how women can help in the battle against illegal drugs and substance abuse.
In the barangay level, a seminar on drug-free workplace policy and rehabilitation programs will be held in the different barangays.
For the school-based setting, the program will concentrate on developing anti-illegal drug advocacy materials for the students.
Last Friday’s activity also featured “serbisyo caravan,” which offered free legal consultation from the Mandaue City Legal Office and the DILG-7, haircuts, job hiring inquiry from the Philippine Employment Service Office (PESO) Mandaue, Social Security System (SSS) inquiries, massage, among others. (HIC, TPT)
