Eastern Samar town offers hog-raising for drug users

MASLOG, Eastern Samar, Oct. 6  -- The local government unit (LGU) of this remote town will introduce hog- raising as livelihood activity for illegal drug surrenderers.

The LGU has partnered with the Roman Catholic Church and local police for the community-based rehabilitation of drug personalities.

The 5th class town, which can only be reached through a three-hour boat ride from the highway in Dolores town, has 27 drug surrenderers. All of them are farmers and considered as low-risk.

They will go through a three-month recovery program before receiving piglets.

The presence of illegal drugs in this remote town had caught local officials by surprise, said Mayor Heraclio Santiago.

“Although this is surprising, we are glad to learn from our assessment that they are all low-risk and can recover through proper intervention,” Santiago said in an interview Thursday.

Illegal drug users here got their supply from traders in Dolores town, said Maslog town police chief Insp. Michael Oraller.

“Aside from body search and checking of personal belongings of strangers, we usually hold suspicious persons at the port for interrogations,” Oraller explained.

Maslog is one of the towns in Eastern Samar that has been declared by the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) as drug-free.

Mayor Santiago also hopes that PDEA’s declaration will help them earn the Seal of Good Local Governance (SGLG) Award from the Department of the Interior and Local Government.

Maslog was recommended for national evaluation for SGLG award this year. (RTA/PNA)