Through the Department of Social Welfare and Development’s (DSWD) “Yakap Bayan Program” (YBP), 8,390 Recovering Persons Who Used Drugs (RPWUDs) have been reintegrated into their families and communities since 2021, an agency official said on Thursday, April 25.

DSWD Assistant Secretary for Disaster Response Management Group (DRMG) and spokesperson Irene Dumlao said RPWUDs receive aftercare and eventual social reintegration services, including relapse prevention sessions, counseling sessions, health and fitness therapy, spiritual interventions, and skills training to enhance their overall well-being and social functioning.

“The YBP is a holistic intervention of the DSWD which adopts human-rights-based approaches to assist RPWUDs, their families and communities toward recovery,” she said.

To date, 133 local government units (LGUs) across the country have partnered with the DSWD for the replication of the YBP in their respective localities.

“An increase in the number of implementing LGUs is expected within the year since the YBP has been institutionalized in January as a regular program of the DSWD through its Operations Group,” Dumlao said.

She added that the replication of the YBP at the local level will contribute to the drug-demand reduction campaign of the national government.

“The RPWUDs in their locality will have the opportunity to better themselves and become productive members of their community, and even become local leaders,” she said.

To ensure the effectiveness, responsiveness, efficiency, and sustainability in addressing the needs of RPWUDs, DSWD partnered with the Dangerous Drugs Board and began the rollout of YBP training with LGUs in the various regions in the country.

“We want to make sure that LGUs have advanced knowledge and skill sets to implement the program and provide necessary assistance to RPWUDs,” Dumlao said.

Trainings will be initially conducted in the Ilocos Region, Cagayan Valley, Western Visayas, Davao Region, and Caraga from April to June.