Bohol starts posting ‘drug-free’ stickers on homes

BOHOL, Philippines – Provincial police and local officials have begun posting drug-free stickers on the doors of homes in some towns here ahead of the full-blast implementation of the provincial government’s program at the end of January.

The Bohol Police Provincial Office (BPPO) said policemen and barangay officials did not encounter resistance when they started posting government-marked stickers on homes this week.

BPPO Director Senior Superintendent Felipe Natividad told Rappler on Saturday, January 6, that all the 47 town police stations and city police have received the complete guidelines on implementing the program.

Each sticker is coded with a number unique to a particular household.

The “Seal of Good Housekeeping” stickers will remain as long as household members abide by the law, said Liza Quirog, head of the provincial government’s Socio-Economic and Environmental Management (SEEM) Cluster.

“Posting of drug-free stickers is purely on a voluntary basis,” Quirog said in an interview with station DYTR. “But only those drug-free households, as reviewed by local officials, can avail of the stickers.”

“Households may refuse the sticker if they are not comfortable,” she added.

She said the pre-approved stickers could serve as an emblem of “pride and honor” for family members who are known in the community as “clean” from substance abuse.

Quirog said those who had voluntarily surrendered to the Philippine National Police under the PNP’s Oplan Tokhang will also undergo a community-based rehabilitation process until they are cleared of drug influence and may then avail of drug-free stickers.

Provincial policy

Posting drug-free stickers on homes started early in Guindulman and Dauis towns. 

Then Interior Secretary Ismael Sueno started the program framework early last year, but it took the province nearly a year to plan and collate all the data before the provincial government launched the program.

The draftng of the implementing rules and regulations went through a multi-sectoral consultation. The Provincial Peace and Order Council (PPOC) approved the IRR on December 22, 2017. 

Bohol Governor Edgar Chatto urged authorities and the public to embrace a non-violent approach in addressing the illegal drug problem.

“I believe that this is a holistic approach and our contribution to the national government’s continuing campaign against illegal drugs, and we assure the public that basic human rights are respected, and all legal parameters are being followed in the implementation of the sticker program,” Chatto said. – Rappler.com