Up to 20% offBeds, Beddingand Mattresses Now through February 20. Give a friend 15% off.Get $20 off to spend on yourself. It’s unreal howreal they look. A quiet statementwith a bold message. This party can pull off pastels. A throwbackhue that’s neverlooked fresher. Regent:An ode to relaxedrefinement. Regatta:High-quality teakhits the deck. Rocha:The warm lookof real wood. Aster:A dose ofcafé culture. Up to 20% offBeds, Beddingand Mattresses “The Arch bed is a modern takeon the classic Americanbentwood bed, pared down toits essential elements.” Make your modern great room shine. Breakfast in Bed:Chai Crepes with Whipped Ricotta Dinner Tonight:Vegan Miso Soba Noodle Soup Start Valentine's Day the sweet way. Share photos, shop photos and get inspired. Follow Us on Instagram @crateandbarrel Our wedding registrydishes out the best collectionand advice around. Attention to the details Buy online, pick up in stores.
Order eligible items online and pick up at a store near you. Choose the Store Pickup option at Checkout. Free Shipping on Gift Registry orders of $49 or more. Unlimited furniture delivery for one flat fee. For one low flat fee per trip, we will deliver every piece of furniture in your order regardless of the number of items. Earn 10% back in reward dollars. The Crate and Barrel Credit Card is designed to reward you every time you shop at Crate and Barrel, CB2 and The Land of Nod. Applications subject to credit approval.Benjie Sumiller of Barangay Sucat went home with a big smile and a welcome burden—five kilos of rice and a noche buena grocery pack worth P300—from a Christmas party recently organized by the local government of Muntinlupa City. It was a party where the idea was to stay sober, for it gathered confessed drug users who had surrendered under the government’s Oplan Tokhang antidrug campaign. “They gave me rice and some ingredients for fruit salad and spaghetti,” a grinning Sumiller said of the goodies given to him by a fellow drug surrenderer who was moved by his speech on how illegal drugs ruined his family and how he now plans to redeem himself.
“Most of my income then as a construction worker went to drinks and drugs. It is rare for me to have food like these on the table, even during Christmas,” he said. The 38-year-old Sumiller is one of the 700 members of Mapalad, a program of the city’s Drug Abuse Prevention and Control Office (Dapco) to reform and reintegrate Tokhang surrenderers into their communities. Mapalad means fortunate in Filipino, but it is also the acronym for “Mamamayan at Pamilyang Ayaw sa Droga (citizens and families against drugs).” According to Dapco head Florocito Ragudo, out of the more than 3,000 who had surrendered in Muntinlupa, 724 were assessed to be “mildly” or “slightly” affected by drug use, which qualifies them for counseling and livelihood seminars. Mapalad members are being monitored weekly by officers of the barangay antidrug abuse councils (Badac) for three months. Surprise drug tests are conducted to check on their progress, and those still found positive would be referred to the city-level council for possible medical intervention.
During the party, Sumiller ended his testimonial by singing “Bawal na Gamot,” a song about the tragedy of drug addiction, made popular by blind singer Willy Garte in the 1990s. The piece, he said, “perfectly summarizes the regret I felt after years of drug abuse.” Sumiller admitted becoming the “worst husband and father” due to his addiction. “I hurt everyone and destroy everything whenever I am drunk or high on drugs. My family and friends called me barumbado (boorish),” he recalled in an Inquirer interview on Saturday. “I was supposed to give (my earnings of around) P2,000 to my wife for our daily expenses, but I take a cut—around P100 at a time—so I could buy ‘shabu’ (meth). Whenever she asked what happened to the money I deducted, I would make up stories and say I just had to help a friend.” While President Duterte’s bloody war on drugs may strike fear among Tokhang surrenderers, Sumiller said he’s actually more afraid of his children growing up thinking their father is a bad person.
“I was a thief and a liar to my own family. I do not want my wife hating me and our children growing up bearing a grudge and not looking up to their father because he’s an addict,” he said. Sumiller said he was not afraid when he surrendered in July, even with the possibility of ending up as a victim of “Kick-Bang”—a play on Tokhang. One dies in a Kick Bang “when the police comes kicking your door open and shooting you,” he explained, saying such fate had befallen many surrenderers who “continued to do drugs.” “If they do not do anything wrong, God will protect them,” he said. Of the 700 Mapalad members, one was killed by unidentified gunmen in October, according to Julie Tarrayo of Dapco. The victim, from Barangay Bayanan, continued using drugs even after he surrendered and enlisted in the program, she said. “It’s not just the police and the local officials who monitor the surrenderers. The drug suppliers and pushers have their own way of monitoring,” Ragudo said.
“If they learned that you had squealed on your source, you’re dead for sure.” Sumiller goes to the Badac of Sucat every Wednesday for his intervention and monitoring sessions. Attendees are asked if they did drugs over the week and are encouraged to share their thoughts and listen to spiritual counselors. Those who attend the sessions in Sucat also get a kilo of rice and some groceries from the barangay. But according to “Mike,” a shabu user who asked that his real name be withheld in this report, some Mapalad members just attend the sessions “because they receive rice and groceries. Otherwise, no one would show up for that.” “I know people who attend but are still using drugs. I don’t know why (barangay officers) haven’t noticed,” he said. Mike said he stopped being a user when Mr. Duterte became President in May. “Who wouldn’t be afraid? The President himself said he will kill all drug addicts.” The 34-year-old said he would not risk his life by “surrendering now and being killed later in the night by mysterious men.”