October 16, 2023
As the government continues its intensified whole-of-nation approach against illegal drugs, the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) on Sunday forged a partnership with the Premier Volleyball League (PVL) to further promote and expand the reach of its flagship anti-drug campaign, Buhay Ingatan, Droga’y Ayawan (BIDA) Program.
In a press conference during the opening of the 2023 PVL All-Filipino Conference at the Smart-Araneta Coliseum, DILG Secretary Benhur Abalos said the partnership with PVL, made official through the signing of a Memorandum of Agreement, will foster better engagement among Filipino youth and will help encourage them to embrace a healthy lifestyle and turn away from illegal drugs.
“The kids have role models to follow. And we have a lot of young kids who have role models in this league, of course, our athletes here. Ang laking bagay nitong partnership na ito. It talks about lifestyle, it talks about attitude change which is crucial in our demand reduction campaign,” Abalos said.
The DILG Chief likewise thanked PVL, the country’s first-ever women’s professional volleyball league, for joining the fight against drugs and for believing in the spirit of BIDA.
For his part, Ricky Palou, president of Sports Vision Management Group, Inc., the company behind PVL, committed the league’s continued support to the BIDA program.
“We believe in this endeavor. And we are very happy to join DILG in this campaign. We fully support the DILG’s anti-drugs program and we are going to really work to ensure that it will be successful,” he said.
The partnership is expected to upscale the league’s drug testing initiatives in accordance with Republic Act No. 9165, or the “Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002,” among its players and staff, according to Abalos.
Under the MOA, PVL players will also sport the BIDA program logo on their jerseys. The league is also expected to help raise awareness about the anti-drug program through the dissemination of “BIDA Visuals” such as advertisement videos and photographs made by the DILG and other Information, Education, and Communication (IEC) materials to be played and shown on the league’s assets, infrastructures, and social media platforms.
The Department has also signed similar partnerships with different sports leagues and organizations, such as the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) and the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP), to gain support for the BIDA Program, which recently won the National Social Welfare Initiative of the Year Award in the 2023 GovMedia Awards.
A partnership with over 30 top private firms in the country was also sealed last May.
Original Article at: https://dilg.gov.ph/news/DILG-continues-BIDA-Program-expansion-ties-up-with-PVL/NC-2023-1198