The CSC-RO1, as member of the Region 1 tobacco control group, understands the difficulty of curbing if not totally eradicating the habit of smoking because it entails more than convincing people and making them realize/understand the hazards of smoking. It is aware that the smokers are only the victims of the much larger entity. Thus, the regional advocacy reaches not only to individuals and organizations/offices/communities but to as far as the tobacco industry itself. To make the collective advocacy succeed, it must involve law/policy-making, proper implementation of these laws/policies, monitoring and evaluation of the implementation as well as penalizing violations. In this sense, it takes more than the effort of one agency or office to make the overall thrust against cigarette smoking work. The effort must be cooperative and collaborative, involving the regulating agencies, the advocating LGUs/offices, the media, and the active NGOs/private sector.

Despite being a tobacco-growing area, Region 1 had its approach that could be described as subtle – gradual but sure. The start was slow for the regional tobacco control group, composed of the DOH-CHD1, CSC-RO1, Government Hospitals, DepEd-RO1, NGOs, some LGUs/MHOs, ___________________________________________________ targeting only the government agencies/offices/LGUs that had existing or at least were in the initial stages of their efforts. It also considered the offices whose management/leadership considers health and wellness as one of its prime programs. The mode was successful. It paved the way to a more diplomatic means of penetrating the “hard/harder-to-deal-with” agencies. DOH-CHD1 took care of the technical assistance and distribution of information materials. CSC-RO1 conducted its own survey to monitor the implementation of CSC Memo 17, s. 2009. Series of dialogues and fora ensued thereafter to orient the management as well as the employees of the targeted agency-beneficiaries. Tugged along during the said dialogues, the offices which have been thriving in their advocacies became themselves the “ambassadors” of success.

The regional group now has lured more entities and agencies such as the PNP, Pag-ibig, Water Districts, more LGUs, and even the media, to intensify its campaign. The challenge now is to even widen the membership of the regional group to include other agencies such as CHED, DTI, and DILG to regulate their own jurisdictional areas, i.e., SUCs, business establishments, and LGUs, respectively. It also intends to partner with the DSWD to integrate anti-smoking lectures in the Pantawid Pamilya Program, if possible. This further supports the regional plan of action of going to the barangay/community level, an approach deemed more direct and effective and its impact more observable.