Youth Dev Program to Be Integrated in HS Curriculum in Naga City

This city government is focusing on a holistic youth development program that includes a corresponding localized education plan that can be integrated into the formal educational curriculum as a response to the drug abuse problem affecting the youth.

This is in recognition of the need to address the drug abuse issue affecting the youth who are considered as the city’s most important resource.

Thus, Ordinance No. 2018-060 known as the “Localized, Values-Based and Holistic Anti-Illegal Drug Abuse Curriculum for the High School Level in Naga City” was enacted in August 2018.

Authored by City Councilor Lito del Rosario, the Ordinance aims to provide support to the current efforts to curb illegal drug dependence and its concomitant ill effects on individuals, families, communities and the people of Naga City.

A Stakeholders Summit on the development of the said Ordinance was held on Friday, October 26 at the Robertson Hotel, here, attended by the different sectors and government line agencies. This also served as the launching of the said program.

“This is the first step. We will get the initial inputs from the different sectors, including line agencies of the government. After this, we will create the technical working group to start writing the initial modules, although a more intensive discussion will be conducted on this. We will be consulting different sectors particularly the youth because they are the most affected,” Del Rosario said.

Present at the summit to give support to the program include representatives from the Archdiocese of Caceres, Department of Education (DepEd), Naga City Schools Division, Philippine Drug Enforcement Administration (PDEA), Department of Health (DOH), Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), LGU Naga and the Naga City PTA League.

DepEd Naga City Schools Division Superintendent William E. Gando is happy to note that the program has been considered into the curriculum integration which he said is a very good development.

“We are very serious about our campaign against drug abuse, as a matter of fact, we have the DepEd Naga Drug Prevention Program which is very much aligned with the direction of DepEd. This is a conscious effort towards educating our youth on the negative effect of drugs and substance abuse,” Gando noted.

For its part, PDEA Regional Director Christian Frivaldo urged all local government units (LGUs) to follow the actions of LGU Naga. He emphasized that cooperation and coordination of every stakeholder will be strengthened by this kind of ordinances.

Mayor John G. Bongat lauded this initiative which he considered as a momentous activity because this is a game-changing innovation on the part of the city.

“With the signing of the document that will formalize the institutionalization of the curriculum integrated with drugs and values education at the High School level, I am pretty sure that this will transform the education system,” Bongat declared.

In his keynote message, DepEd Regional Director Gilbert T. Sadsad also acclaimed the program, stating that the legislation is much welcomed by the DepEd particularly by the Regional Office and that he is committing that once the modules are done, they will be implementing it in the entire region. (JRM-PIA5/Camarines Sur)