Symposia, brass-band showdown, anti-drug concerts, and radio plug and television ad contests are among the activities to drumbeat the drug abuse prevention campaign in Misamis Oriental, according to the organizers of this year’s National Drug Abuse Prevention and Control Week.
Spearheaded by the Misamis Oriental Provincial Peace and Order Council (PPOC), the weeklong celebration will kick-off on November 14 with a launching program and the culmination activity on November 20, all of these will be at the provincial capitol ground.
Misamis Oriental Governor Oscar S. Moreno, chair of the PPOC, Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) 10 regional director Gilberto B. Abanto Jr. and Philippine National Police (PNP) 10 regional director Chief Supt. Danilo Empedrad are expected to give their messages during the opening program, anchored on the this year’s theme, “Kilos Pamayanan: Sa Droga Patuloy na Lumban”.
PPOC executive officer Teodoro A. Sabuga-a, head of the provincial social welfare and development office, said that before the opening program, a motorcade on Cagayan de Oro City’s main streets will be held.
Sabuga-a said that the motorcade will be participated in members of the PPOC and Municipal Peace and Order Councils, municipal officials, police and military officers, personnel from the Department of Education (DedEd) and Commission on Higher Education (CHEd), and representatives of non-governmental organizations and other regional line agencies.
Meanwhile, PDEA 10 regional director Abanto announced that their office will be conducting symposia and film showing in various secondary schools and colleges in Cagayan de Oro and Misamis Oriental as well as in selected barangays, all geared toward creating greater awareness of the menace of drug and substance abuse.
He said they have already invited rehabilitated drug dependents to share their first-hand experiences during these symposia.
Moreover, to sustain the drug prevention campaign, the PPOC has also launched a radio plug and television advertisement competition which is open to all interested individuals, including professional broadcasters and mass media practitioners.
Provincial Press Office head Maricel Casiño Rivera, who also heads the PPOC publicity committee, emphasized that the content of the radio plug and TV ad must be engaging, relevant and appropriate to desired audience.
Rivera said the entries, which must be submitted to the Misamis Oriental PPO not later than 5 p.m. of November 11, 2009, will be judged according to content (25%), visual design (30%), concept (25%), and quality of craft (20%). Cash prizes await the top three winners of both contest categories; P10,000 for first place, P7,000 for second place, and P5,000 for third place. Winning entries will become properties of the PPOC and would eventually be aired on all radio and television stations, she added.
Other highlights of the drug abuse prevention and control week celebration include brass-band exhibition interspersed by performances of Cagayan de Oro Dance Sports Council members at 2 p.m. on November 12 and the anti-drug concert of the members of the Samahan ng mga Mag-aawit and Musikero ng Kagay-an (Sammaka) at 5 p.m. on November 20, and will be followed by a culmination program. [MisOr PPO/Uriel C. Quilinguing]
