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BY RUBY P. SILUBRICO
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ILOILO City – A drug dependent was found dead with a gunshot wound on his head inside the toilet of his house in Barangay Rizal Estanzuela, City Proper.
Rodel Navales was a 47-year-old trisikad driver. He had been snorting shabu for years and lately exhibited withdrawal symptoms after stopping his vice, according to family members.
The Navales family believed Rodel killed himself yesterday.
Withdrawal symptoms refer to the physical problems and emotions a dependent on a substance (such as alcohol, prescription medicines, or illegal drugs) experiences when he suddenly stops or drastically reduces the intake of the substance.
Navales was listless and behaved strangely in recent weeks, according to his family.
His body was discovered around 2 p.m. yesterday. He had a gunshot wound on his right temple, said Senior Inspector Aldrin Lamera, chief of Police Station 1.
Responding policemen recovered near Navales’ body a 12-gauge shotgun.
There was no one else in the house when he shot himself.
Navales previously tried to hang himself, the police learned, but family members managed to dissuade him.
It was unclear as of this writing if Navales enrolled himself to the drug rehabilitation program of the city government.
According to the website webmd.com, symptoms of withdrawal from either illegal drugs or prescription medicines depend on the drug or combination of drugs. Common withdrawal symptoms include:
* abdominal pain
* nausea and vomiting
* drenching sweats
* nervousness and shaking, and
* seizures.
Each of the seven districts of Iloilo City has a designated rehabilitation center (dubbed as community change center), usually a public gym. Light to moderate drug dependents get help from psychologists, nurses, police officers, and assistants.
The rehabilitation program started last week of August. According to Dr. Bernard Caspe, city health officer, the program will last for six months for each batch of clients.
The program’s number of clients now averages 250 a day, said Caspe.
The initial target was 420 or 60 clients per district.
Each center is equipped with trained manpower composed of
Caspe expressed hope that more drug dependents will come forward and undergo rehabilitation voluntarily.
An agreement was signed between the city government, Western Visayas Medical Center and West Visayas State University Medical Center for drug tests as part of the program.
A P500,000 fund was deposited by the city government in each of the hospitals to fund the drug tests./PN
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