Friday | December 15, 2017 | 11:10 PM

Employees from PAGCOR’s Tagaytay branch led by Branch Manager Victor Crisostomo (2nd from right) visit the orphans of Casa Dei Bambini as part of the agency’s Pamaskong Handog. The kids received noche buena packs and other grocery items.

At one look, one will never think that 37-year-old Jonas (not his real name) just went through a rough patch in life. Now a contractual employee at the Department of Health (DOH) – Drug Rehabilitation Center (DRC), he exudes the spirit of hope and new beginnings.

But just a few years ago, he was a patient at the same institution where he works – undergoing rehabilitation for substance abuse. In his journey to recovery, he is grateful that institutions like the DOH-DRC gave him a new lease on life.

According to DOH-DRC Head Dr. Ronnie Delmundo, it takes about eight to ten months for a drug dependent to be rehabilitated. While undergoing rehabilitation, they stay at the DOH facility to ensure that all aspects needed for rehabilitation are addressed.

“We do a lot of interventions including emotional, psychological, livelihood and spiritual formations so we can effectively re-integrate them to society. After that, patients undergo aftercare program for 18 months for us to constantly monitor them,” he explains.

In its mission to help drug dependents, one of the challenges of DOH-DRC is budget limitations. “We live on a budget. Most of our funds go to food. The patients need proper nutrition so that their bodies will fully recover. Some have special diets because of the illnesses which they got as a result of substance abuse,” Delmundo adds.

Luckily, the DOH-DRC was chosen as one of the beneficiaries of the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation’s (PAGCOR) Pamaskong Handog project this year.

On December 11, 2017, PAGCOR’s Casino Filipino (CF) branch in Tagaytay turned over assorted grocery items and toiletries for the institution’s 300 in-house patients.

“I want to thank PAGCOR for providing our patients with something for the holidays. It will go a long way and it will help us in terms of augmentation of resources. Mas malaki ang impact nito sa aming indigent patients na hindi nadadalaw,” Delmundo says.

Apart from DOH-DRC, CF Tagaytay also reached out to Bridgehall Rehabilitation Center, a drug rehabilitation center in Indang Cavite; the Casa Bambini Giuseppe, an orphanage run by the Sisters of the Sacred Heart; and the street sweepers of Tagaytay employed by the local government of Tagaytay.

CF Tagaytay’s Branch Manager Victor Crisostomo, who led the gift-giving activities for the four institutions, expressed his gratitude to the branch personnel for actively participating in Pamaskong Handog activities. “PAGCOR has been organizing this event for years and we are glad to be part of it,” he cites.

PAGCOR’s Pamaskong Handog 2017 kicked-off last December 1, 2017. Over 14,000 individuals from 38 charitable were chosen as recipients of the gift-giving program this year.

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