Pinangunahan ni DILG Secretary Benjamin Abalos Jr., (3rd mula sa kaliwa) sa anibersaryo ng Buhay Ingatan, Droga’y Ayawan (BIDA) na ginawa sa Mall Of Asia sa Pasay City nitong Marso 23, 2024. Dinaluhan nila San Juan Mayor Francis Zamora (kaliwa) Sen. Manny Paquiao, MMDA Chairman Romando Artes at iba pang mga opisyal sa gobyerno ang nasabing event.
DILG celebrates 1st BIDA program anniversary
OFFICIALS on Saturday celebrated the 1st anniversary of the Buhay ay Ingatan, Droga’s Ayawan or BIDA program of the Department of Interior and Local Government.
An estimated 60,000 people, majority of them from the Philippine National Police (PNP), the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP) and Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP) as well as local government units and other DILG stakeholders joined the event held at the SM MOA concert grounds.
DILG Secretary Benjamin C. Abalos Jr., Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) Director General Moro Virgilio M. Lazo, National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO) director, Major Gen. Jose Melencio C. Nartatez Jr. and PNP Director for Police-Community Relations, Maj. Gen. Edgar Alan O. Okubo graced the festivities.
In his address to the audience, Sec. Abalos emphasized that the BIDA program aims to comprehensively address drug-related issues as he highlighted the alarming statistic that 70 percent of all incarcerations in the country are drug-related, with only a third of those serving their sentences.
His proposed solution is simple: individuals released from prison will be provided with employment for one year.
Sec. Abalos likewise underscored the vital importance of collaboration among all agencies, with a particular focus on the role of the PNP’s Community Policing Program entitled “Revitalized Pulis sa Barangay or R-PSB program which he said should be amplified throughout Metro Manila.
The DILGH chief at the same time urged everyone, especially families, schools, children, and all relevant agencies, to actively participate in ensuring children’s proper nutrition
