SPEECH ON DRUG ABUSE

Good Morning Friends in the Bureau of Fire Protection and the

stakeholders!

It feels extremely great to see how the members of our organization

are working hard in order to make every day count and reach out to the
masses for spreading awareness about the drug addiction or drug
abuse.

Since day one and until today, the campaign of our organization – we
haven’t really ever thought that we will grow this big. The response so
far has been really good and we have been able to transform the life of
the people for good, who earlier have been living under the influence of
drugs and other related substances.

So today I would further like to appeal to the masses to refrain

themselves from using drugs and live a healthy life. Drug addiction or
drug abuse is described as an excessive dependency on a substance,
which inevitably becomes the compulsive need of the person using it.

This need becomes so compulsive that without that substance the

person cannot live his life like a normal person does. And, when such a
substance is stopped being available in the market then that person is
believed to be suffering from substance withdrawal.

The addiction of drugs has become one of the serious social problems
in many developing as well as developed countries and it undeniably
proves to be the principal obstruction in the all-round development of
the people, society, country and the world at a large.
Our country is a progressing country and it is already afflicted with so
many other grave problems, such as unemployment, poverty and
illiteracy that the problem of drug abuse makes the situation even
worse here as it further makes our economy regressive by destroying
the lives of its youth.

Even sadder is the fact that several drug addicts cannot afford to make
a purchase of expensive drugs so much so that in the end they have to
resort to such activities as theft in their homes. These people are not
born thieves, but their addiction to drugs makes them heinous and
propels them to commit crimes in order to feed their body with drugs.

People can become addicted to drugs because of various reasons,

some of which I am going to mention like:

1. In order to de-stress themselves

When a person is under the influence of drugs, he/she forgets
everything and enters into a trance-like state. However, it is only later
that people realize that the use of drugs is only aggravating the
problem and not really helping them in getting rid of the stress.

2. Out of peer pressure

Many times, people start taking drugs because their friends are
addicted to them. However, once they start taking it, it becomes really
difficult for them to get rid of this habit.

3. Style Statement
Many teenagers these days think that the habit of drinking, smoking
and even drug addiction is what helps them look cool and create a style
statement in the front of others. However, it’s only when these people
get trapped in its vicious circle that they realize the irreparable they
have caused to their lives.
Teenagers and every person for that matter must understand that the
habit of drug abuse not only greatly affects their body and mind, but
also finishes their bright future. So we should strictly say ‘No’ to drugs
and save our lives as well the lives of our loved ones by spreading
awareness in our surroundings.

Thank You!

Good Morning Friends in the Bureau of Fire Protection and the

stakeholders!

I am deeply honored and happy to share with you some words that every
one of us should have and expected of us, as a public servant.

If I could teach only one value to live by, it would be this: 

Success will come and go, but integrity is forever.

Integrity means doing the right thing at all times and in all
circumstances, whether or not anyone is watching.

It takes having the courage to do the right thing, no matter what the
consequences will be.

Building a reputation of integrity takes years, but it takes only a second

to lose, so never allow yourself to ever do anything that would damage
your integrity.

We live in a world where integrity isn’t talked about nearly enough.

We live in a world where “the end justifies the means” has become an
acceptable school of thought for far too many.

Sales people overpromise and under deliver, all in the name of making
their quota for the month.

Applicants exaggerate in job interviews because they desperately need a

job.
CEOs overstate their projected earnings because they don’t want the
board of directors to replace them.  

Entrepreneurs overstate their profiles because they want the highest

evaluation possible from an investor.

Investors understate a company’s value in order to negotiate a lower

evaluation in a deal.

Customer service representatives cover up a mistake they made because

they are afraid the client will leave them.

Employees call in “sick” because they don’t have any more paid time off
when they actually just need to get their Christmas shopping done.

The list could go on and on, and in each case the person committing the
act of dishonesty told themselves they had a perfectly valid reason why
the end result justified their lack of integrity.

It may seem like people can gain power quickly and easily if they are
willing to cut corners and act without the constraints of morality.

Dishonesty may provide instant gratification in the moment but it will

never last.

I can think of several examples of people without integrity who are

successful and who win without ever getting caught, which creates a false
perception of the path to success that one should follow.

After all, each person in the examples I made mention could have gained
the result they wanted in the moment, but unfortunately, that
momentary result comes at an incredibly high price with far reaching
consequences. 

That person has lost their ability to be trusted as a person of integrity,

which is the most valuable quality anyone can have in their life. Profit in
money or power is temporary, but profit in a network of people who trust
you as a person of integrity is forever.
Every one person who trusts you will spread the word of that trust to at
least a few of their associates, and word of your character will spread like
wildfire.

The value of the trust others have in you is far beyond anything that can
be measured. 

For entrepreneurs it means investors that are willing to trust them with
their money.

For employees it means a manager or a boss that is willing to trust them

with additional responsibility and growth opportunities.

For companies it means customers that trust giving them more and
more business.

For you it means having an army of people that are willing to go the extra
mile to help you because they know that recommending you to others
will never bring damage to their own reputation of integrity.

Yes, the value of the trust others have in you goes beyond anything that
can be measured because it brings along with it limitless opportunities
and endless possibilities.

A successful leader one said, “In looking for people to hire, look for three
qualities: integrity, intelligence, and energy. 

And if they don’t have the first one, the other two will kill you.”  A
person’s dishonesty will eventually catch up to them. It may not be
today, and it may not be for many years, but you can rest assured that at
some point there will always be a reckoning.

A word of advice to those who are striving for a reputation of integrity:

Avoid those who are not trustworthy.

Do not do business with them.

Do not associate with them.

Do not make excuses for them. 

 Do not allow yourself to get enticed into believing that “while they may
be dishonest with others, they would never be dishonest with me.”

If someone is dishonest in any aspect of his life you can be guaranteed

that he will be dishonest in many aspects of his life.

You cannot dismiss even those little acts of dishonesty, such as the
person who takes two newspapers from the stand when they paid for
only one.

After all, if a person cannot be trusted in the simplest matters of honesty

then how can they possibly be trusted to uphold lengthy and complex
business contracts?

It is important to realize that others pay attention to those you have

chosen to associate with, and they will inevitably judge your character by
the character of your friends. Why is that? 

It is best explained by a quote my father often says when he is reminding

me to be careful of the bureau I am keeping:  “When you lie down with
dogs, you get fleas.” Inevitably we become more and more like the people
we surround ourselves with day to day.

If we surround ourselves with people who are dishonest and willing to

cut corners to get ahead, then we’ll surely find ourselves following a
pattern of first enduring their behavior, then accepting their behavior,
and finally adopting their behavior.

If you want to build a reputation as a person of integrity then surround

yourself with people of integrity.

I believe in the saying that: “Do what is right, let the consequence
follow.” It serves as a daily reminder that success will indeed come and
go, but integrity is forever, and I thank you!

Have a nice and productive day to all of us!

 FO2 Donnabelle Jipos-Cruzada
South Upi Municpal Fire Station
South Upi, Maguindanao