DAP organised this training on Basic Counselling Skills for Addiction Professionals (UTC 4) and Case Management for Addiction Professionals (UTC 6) in response to the request of the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) as a continuation of the Basic UTC Courses for the Criminal Justice System that started in 2018. This is the 9th batch of training cohort for the Philippines but due to the COVID-19 pandemic, it was conducted in a blended learning approach – synchronous via online platform for two hours each day for the 12- day sessions, with off-line or asynchronous activities for small group collaborative learning.

The 12-day training was conducted through the use of the online meetings’ platforms such as MS Teams and Zoom for the sessions. The training aimed to enhance the understanding of the participants on the multi-factorial nature of substance use and how the criminal justice institutions like the PDEA can support treatment and recovery of affected individuals.

This on-line version of the two courses was customised to fill-in the gaps of the ‘War on the Drugs’ interventions from a health perspective via the ‘Balay Silangan’ projects in support of Local Government Community-based Programme Responses.