ANTI-DRUGS COURSE FOR METRO GRADERS

NEARLY 8,000 grade school students have enrolled in a program which
would, hopefully, keep them drug-free as they grow up.

Supt. Rodolfo Llorca, chief of the Manila Police District (MPD)
Anti-Illegal Drugs division, said 7,342 students from 22 public and
private schools in the city completed the DARE program last year.

DARE stands for the Drug Abuse Resistance Education program that the
Manila police conduct annually for elementary school students.

Drug-Free Republic

The program has the theme: "Stay Away From Drugs... Live a Prosperous
and Wholesome Life Towards a Strong Republic."

"The latest batch of graduates came from Paco Catholic School with 630
grade school students," Llorca said in a statement.

Under the 17-week DARE program, MPD officers discuss with the students
theadvantages and benefits of avoiding drugs.

Justin Magsalin, a grade five student at the Paco Catholic School,
said the DARE program taught her and her classmates to turn away from
illegal drugs.

"It opened our minds to the bad effects and consequences of using
drugs," Magsalin said.