The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), through its field office in Northern Mindanao (Region 10), has formed the Regional Technical Working Group (TWG) for the Implementation of Aftercare, Reintegration, and Transformation Support for Recovering Drug Dependents.
Under a memorandum of agreement signed by DSWD and other regional government agencies, the TWG will consolidate and synchronize efforts towards the effective and efficient implementation of aftercare programs for recovering drug dependents and their families in the region.
The TWG member-agencies include the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology, Commission on Higher Education, Department of Agriculture, Department of Agrarian Reform, Department of Education, Department of Environment and Natural Resources, Department of the Interior and Local Government, Department of Health, Department of Justice-Parole and Probation Administration, Department of Trade and Industry, Department of Labor and Employment, Technical Education and Skills Development Authority, National Commission for Culture and the Arts, and Philippine Sports Commission.
The creation of the regional TWG is one of the initiatives of the DSWD to contribute to the anti-illegal drug campaign of the national government.
Through the TWG, the different government agencies can undertake convergent efforts to provide a whole of nation approach in the rehabilitation and reintegration of the Recovering Persons Who Used Drugs (RPWUDs).
As part of its intensified campaign against illegal drugs, the DSWD implements the Yakap Bayan Program (YBP), the government’s primary reintegration program model for RPWUDs.
Eight local government units, namely Kapatagan, Lanao del Norte; Sugbongcogon, Misamis Oriental; Tudela, Misamis Occidental; Pangantucan, Bukidnon; Binuangan, Misamis Oriental; Salay, Misamis Oriental; Tagoloan, Misamis Oriental; and the provincial government of Misamis Oriental, have partnered with DSWD-Northern Mindanao for the implementation of YBP in their respective jurisdictions.