Tacloban’s homegrown drug rehabilitation program was given due recognition recently by the Department of Health (DOH) Eastern Visayas when it was included in the regional awarding of health achievers. The program was recognized as “LGUs Best Practice on the Establishment of Community-Based Treatment and Support Services for Persons Who Use Drugs” by the DOH.

Aptly named “New Beginnings” – the drug rehab program being implemented by the City Government under the leadership of Mayor Cristina G. Romualdez was one of the first local-government-initiated programs implemented in support of the national government’s war on drugs.

It was also instrumental in the declaration of the City in 2017 as the first Drug-Cleared Highly Urbanized City (HUC) in the Visayas by the Local Dangerous Drug Board.

The six-month Wellness and Recovery program is a multi-stakeholder initiative that implements several Recovery Modules, coaching and therapeutic sessions handled by trained Doctors and Nurses of the City Government for the well being of Persons Who Used Drugs (PWUDS).

PWUDs also undergo lectures on Basic Life Support and First Aid, the prevention of diseases and promotion of healthy lifestyle, as part of the program’s holistic approach to drug rehabilitation.

As of March 13, 2019, some 1,235 PWUDs coming from 40 Barangays are currently undergoing the program, while 352 have already undergone rehabilitation.