With their clashing stands on death penalty and reproductive health, it’s hard to imagine President Rodrigo Duterte and the conservative Catholic Church working together in the next six years.
But this doesn’t mean that the government and the powerful religious institution can’t co-exist in peace.
Vice President Ma. Leonor “Leni” Robredo, who believes in a faith-based approach in drug rehabilitation, has reached out to the Catholic Church to become the government’s partner in changing the lives of individuals who have become victims of drugs.
“Bishop Soc representing the CBCP said the Catholic Church will be very glad to take on being a partner of the government in crafting a community rehabilitation program,” she said in a report by the Manila Bulletin.
The Vice President is pushing for the creation of a comprehensive drug rehabilitation program that will involve a partnership between the government, the private sector, and the Catholic Church.
In her speech in Leyte, she said that 700,000 drug users have already surrendered to authorities, but only 10 percent or 70,000 are “eligible for institutional rehabilitation.”
“We said, what will happen to the 630,000? There’s no program yet,” Robredo said.
She also recalled Ugnayan ng Barangay at Simbahan (UBAS), a program initiated by her late husband, former Interior Secretary Jesse Robredo that promotes partnership between local parishes and village leaders for better delivery of basic needs.
“UBAS has found a place in the larger scheme of things,” she said. “UBAS will take care of the community rehabilitation program. ”
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