Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) Secretary Benjamin “Benhur” Abalos Jr. has pushed all parents to go all out in guiding their children to the righteous path by telling them to "say no to drugs."

(DILG Sec. Benhur Abalos / File photo)

“Parenthood is a sacred duty bestowed to us by the Lord and in our war against illegal drugs, we must ensure that our children will be far from its influence. I urge all the parents to be good role models and to continuously nurture their relationship with their children so that they may ably guide them through life’s challenges and veer them away from illegal drugs,’’ Abalos stressed.

Abalos issued the call during the recent launching of the "Buhay Ingatan, Droga’y Ayawan" (BIDA) campaign in Kalibo, Aklan where he emphasized that keeping the children out of illegal drugs is the most important responsibility of the parents.

The DILG chief pointed out that every person has a problem to deal with, but there is no problem without a solution.

“What is important is how you handle a problem. It is what makes you a leader. Iyan ang kailangan natin sa bata, the confidence to say no to illegal drugs,” he added.

Citing the recent drug busts in Baguio City and Taguig City, Abalos lamented there is a need to act quickly to end the illegal drug woes because of the extreme damage it has caused to the country.

“We are now at a point na ang huli ng pulis ay bilyon-bilyon. Kailan lamang, sa Baguio, nakahuli sila ng P4 billion. Kung umikot ito, malaking perwisyo sa anak natin, sa apo natin, sa mga susunod nating henerasyon ng Pilipino. Sisirain tayo nito (We are now at the point where the police had seized billions of pesos worth of illegal drugs. Just recently they confiscated P4 billion worth of illegal drugs in Baguio. If these get into the streets, this will be a huge problem to our children, grandchildren and the next Filipino generations. This will destroy us),’’ Abalos noted.