DOH plans to include drug rehab in PhilHealth coverage

A two-week drug rehabilitation program might become included in PhilHealth's coverage, Health Secretary Paulyn Ubial said on Thursday.

Ubial said this would be the most cost-effective program the Department of Health (DOH) could provide — in line with the Duterte administration's campaign against illegal drugs.

She said the DOH was yet to discuss the exact coverage costs with PhilHealth.

"Unfortunately, hindi kakayanin yung prolonged residential services which can take six to twelve months. So yung ipapasok natin sa Philhealth is acute phase, which lasts up to two weeks," she said.

In the acute phase, patients receive active but short-term treatment for their condition.

Ubial said the DOH was looking at both medicinal and non-medicinal detoxification programs. She said medical treatment might be more expensive compared to providing counseling, psycho-social support, and debriefing.

Senator Tito Sotto earlier filed Senate Bill No. 8, which mandates PhilHealth to include drug addiction treatment in its services.

The government also said plans to build rehabilitation centers across the country were on the table.

Source: http://cnnphilippines.com/news/2016/07/21/doh-philhealth-coverage-drug-rehabilitation.html

Good People, Bad People

(This is the story of a drug addict. Names of persons and locations have been changed so as to protect the identities of those involved) 

Carlito was born out of wedlock. The son of a prominent member of Philippine society. Even though he was “outside” of grace, his father always looked out for his material needs and even wants. He grew up with is mother who belonged to an “old” family in their home town and the family or clan although not rich were also recognized as one of the influential clans in that town. His mother belonged in the social circles that mattered and was also well educated.

Carlito’s education was not found wanting. A kindergarten in one of the most exclusive gated communities in the country, grade school and high school ran by a large religious order and college in one of the top 3 Philippine educational institutions. There were no problems with grades. Carlito grew up knowing culture and the good things in life. He was also grounded in such a way that playmates as he was growing up consisted of children from all classes of society. Although being “angat” among the other children in the neighborhood came along with frictions but as they said, they are all kids with a couple of rough spots just like any other.

Even early on, he possessed multiple intelligences. Good at academics, going to NCAA games to cheer for his eventual school, musically endowed (piano and guitar oido) and good looks to boot!

But like in any other person, he also had a shadow life. In high school he discovered that he was bisexual.  

But in college, he had his own clique that included sons of prominent families also. But then again, Carlito was also a child of his community. He learned to do drugs.

At this time, he was already a professional. Given the opportunity, he went abroad to work. He wanted to find his place in the world as what was his potential. He excelled in his field and thrived abroad. But also, he was human. He wanted to have happiness that is not considered normal. He suffered betrayal in a relationship and then his downward spiral happened.

He got imprisoned abroad due to drug related offenses but was released and deported fortunately because of connections as was his birthright.

Unfortunately, his emotional and mental health was already affected and the use of Shabu further distorted his values. He was “rehabilitated” more than once but still the problem persisted and even worsened despite the efforts of friends and family.

Now, he is a shell of his former self. But he never committed any crime. He is a victim.

I ask, is it grounds for cardboard justice? Shall be be terminated with prejudice? Will his death solve the drug problem?

Is Carlito good or bad?

An Addict, Alive and in Recovery

If President Duterte were elected 10 years ago, I’d be dead by now.

The local police would have asked me and my trusted “source” to stop using shabu, but I wouldn’t have stopped. Neither would my favorite source, who was just as hooked as I was. He was a childhood friend and, believe it or not, the evils of drugs and the drug trade did not destroy our friendship.

You see, that's the thing. We’d probably turn ourselves in to the authorities and sign what they wanted us to sign out of fear for our lives – just as the hundreds of thousands of “surrenderees” are doing now.  But once the craving or “giyang” sets in, we would have found ways to get our fix. We were intelligent and creative enough to find means, however dire the situation would seem. As I would later learn, addiction is a complex disease – and not merely a series of bad choices or bad behaviors – and our addiction (or at least my addiction, as I can only speak for myself), had established a firm hold on us. Rationality and fear would not have sufficed to make me stop and “change."

Despite our fears and the dangers that faced us, we would have still “scored” from our most secret of sources, because we were “connected” well enough to the higher-ups in our province's drug trade. I can only imagine how easy it would have been for me to become a recipient of the currently prevailing “cardboard justice.” It wouldn't have mattered who killed me or why. The possibilities were countless.

But instead of marking me off a hitlist, our local police coordinated with my rehab center's director, and assisted them when they picked me up from our small town and brought me to rehab. I did not resist or attempt to run or fight. But even if I did, I don’t think they would have shot me dead.

I can still vividly recall how it happened. It was like a scene straight out of a movie: everything came to a standstill at our local market as people watched our Deputy Chief escort me to the precinct, where my wife and my mother – who seemed to have betrayed me – signed the commitment papers and turned me over to rehab.

Because the police back then were mindful of the guidelines they had to follow while performing their drug-related duties – even after I’ve had several run-ins with the law and sleepovers at our local prison – I had a chance to recover. My relatives, my wife, my mother, and my friends – who still believed in me and in the possibility of change and recovery – pulled in all the love, support, and resources I needed to bring me where I am now: a recovering alcoholic-addict; a functioning, productive member of society; a devoted husband and father; and a gainfully employed IT professional.

But as happy as I am that I am in recovery, I am saddened and alarmed by what is happening right now. I can only reiterate that for an addict, getting away from addiction is not as simple as deciding to stop. It has been a decade-long struggle for me, and I am still struggling to stay clean and sober, one day at a time.

I am recovering. But to recover, one has to be alive.