DSWD Assistant Secretary Jose Antonio R. Hernandez [rightmost] leads the anti-drug abuse consultation meeting.

Davao City (DSWD XI) – Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) Assistant Secretary Jose Antonio R. Hernandez led the orientation and consultation meeting of the Inter-Agency Committee on Anti-Illegal Drugs (ICAD) at Ateneo de Davao University on Thursday.

The meeting aimed at presenting the illegal drug problem situation in Region XI and orienting participants on Executive Order No. 15 s. 2017 signed by President Rodrigo R. Duterte on March 7, 2017, that requires ICAD to form clusters on enforcement, justice, advocacy, and rehabilitation and reintegration to handle specific tasks.

The Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA), which chairs ICAD, presented the guidelines on Drug-Cleared Barangays to heads and representatives of 20 member agencies and local government officials that participated.

Assistant Secretary Hernandez discussed the ICAD Yakap-Bayan Framework (Embrace the People Framework), a program that helps turn drug dependents into productive members of society through medical and psychosocial interventions, such as detoxification and counseling, in the first six months of their rehabilitation. (DSWD)