U.S. Embassy launches school-based drug prevention curriculum for Philippine law enforcers

The U.S. Embassy in the Philippines’ Office of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs (INL) collaborated with the Philippine Dangerous Drugs Board (DDB) and the Colombo Plan Drug Advisory Program to launch a unique, 10-day training series for law enforcers with drug prevention education responsibilities.  The ultimate goal of the program is to reduce the likelihood of initiation of substance use in schools.

A total of 30 officers with drug prevention education responsibilities from the Philippine National Police and Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) completed the first training from April 26 to May 7.  This will be followed by a series of 10-day sessions that will train additional law enforcement entities over the course of two years.

Randy Pedroso, Deputy Director General of PDEA, said the training was “very relevant” and reflects “collaboration and teamwork in the fight against drugs.”  DDB Undersecretary Benjamin Reyes likewise thanked INL for its strong support for drug demand reduction programs in the Philippines.

Through INL funding, the Colombo Plan worked with Philippine drug demand reduction experts, a technical expert advisory working group on prevention science, and master trainers, to tailor the universally-recognized curriculum on prevention, known as the Universal Prevention Curriculum, for Philippine professionals.

The Universal Prevention Curriculum includes a series designed to help ensure that nationally- and regionally-based prevention workers obtain consistent, accurate, and up-to-date science-based information and skills training.  Specifically, the School-Based Prevention Intervention module provides participants with an overview of the science behind school-based prevention interventions, and the application of such evidence-based approaches in school settings.

This project is a component of the U.S. Embassy in the Philippines’ comprehensive program on drug demand reduction covering prevention, treatment, recovery, and policy development.  The Colombo Plan Drug Advisory Program is a regional intergovernmental program building capacity for drug demand reduction efforts in the Asia-Pacific Region.

Learn more about the Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement and its Drug Demand Reduction programs globally at www.state.gov/j/inl.