Alcoholics in the Philippines
To get the meetings all over the Philippines Contact this number
CONTACT NUMBERS OF ALCOHOLIC ANONYMOUS PHILIPPINES
Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) hotline# +632-890-2247 / +63917-8954254 (Teena M.)
Telefax 890-2247
Email: bigbook@edsamail.com.ph / mclm@edsamail.com.ph
When the high and mighty fall, the road to recovery begins with a public apology. If there is any redeeming factor that Mel Gibson has given to the world is the media coverage of alcoholism devastating consequences. In the Philippines, drunken men or women are a common sight in parties, fiestas or celebrations. Oooh, you can see them falling to the floor, slurring their words or being just an annoying loud mouth. The party drunk, the life of the party, right? The San Miguel Beer says it all. The multi-million ad portrays a festive atmosphere where beer overflows and sexy ladies sashay their bodies or flaunt their beauty. Such an ad conditions the mind of our vulnerable young kids to associate beer with lovely women and lure them to a life of fun-filled parties.
The effects of alcoholism are easily shown in the sensational section of the local TV news. How often do you see wives beaten up by their husbands? Or children being sexually abused by their biological fathers? What about that actor caught for drunk driving? Though I don’t have the statistics right now, I bet there are cases of drunk -related accidents or physical abuse.
Countless families are ruined and being ruined by alcoholism. Family members walk in eggshells as they pass by the pink elephant snoring in their living room. Not many know that alcoholics are just in the same level as drug addicts. It’s even harder for alcoholics to abstain from their addiction because alcohol is available everywhere. San Miguel beer ads often show a party atmosphere and that a party is incomplete without beer. Oh well, how else can they advertise right? Still they shouldn’t show bottles of beer on the table. Drinking alcohol is so much a part of our Filipino culture. In fact , it is “macho” if one can gulp a number of beer bottles. There is the issue that one is not an alcoholic just because the person is not rolling in the road or that he doesn’t drink everyday anyway. Does the person even know he is an alcoholic?
It was Alcoholics Anonymous who
was instrumental in again emphasizing the “disease concept” of alcoholism, the defining work was done by Elvin Jellinek, M.D., of the Yale Center of Alcohol Studies. In his book, The Disease Concept of Alcoholism, published in 1960, Jellinek described alcoholics as individuals with tolerance, withdrawal symptoms, and either “loss of control” or “inability to abstain” from alcohol. He asserted that these individuals could not drink in moderation, and, with continued drinking, the disease was progressive and life-threatening. Jellinek also recognized that some features of the disease (e.g., inability to abstain and loss of control) were shaped by cultural factors- source
I wasn’t aware that alcoholism is a “disease” until my friend confided that her husband was confined in a rehab center in Tagaytay two years ago. (I asked permission to quote her and changed some circumstances to protect their privacy. ) I thought only drug addicts get rehabiliated.
“Alcohol is a drug. Alcoholism is an illness, which is successfully treatable with a wide variety of interventions. It stems from a genetically mediated biological predisposition, and for those who are hardwired with the potential for alcoholism, drinking can prove to be a chronic, debilitating enemy.
My husband wasn’t a social drinker. His drinking bouts got to the point that he incurred so many absences from work . I felt he would lose his job anytime if he didn’t shape up. I didn’t want to wait till he had nothing left so I had him confined at Makati Medical Center upon the advice of a psychiatrist-friend. He experienced withdrawal symptons like any drug addict like “hand tremors and rage”. But don’t you know my husband was the only alcoholic among the in-patients? Even the Alcoholics Anonymous Philippines have very few alcoholics. In fact, most of its members are drug addicts. That does not deter him from attending weekly AA meetings for the past 2 years now. I am aware that he can relapse anytime.
The level of awareness that alcoholism can be treated is still not as widespread as drug addiction rehabilitation. Rehab cost is not cheap. One can spend up to 140,000 thousand pesos ($2800) for a 60 day program. But his life was at stake if he didn’t try to recover, right? So it was worth the expense. I am just taking it one day at a time. I too have my own recovery program because alcoholism is a family disease. Even if I am not an alcoholic, I imbibed some of his irritating habits. I am recovering. He is on the road to recovery thanks to AA meetings.
As we continued chatting, I immediately surfed and discovered that there is no Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) Philippines website nor contact numbers on how to reach this group. But they are found in the PLDT telephone book. Look for “Alcoholics Anonymous”. , my friend added. A lot of alcoholics around the world have been saved by the AA program since 1935 but how many alcoholics in the Philippines even know that the group is active?
My friend continued
Word of mouth I guess. Psychiatrists even recommend it. My husband also attended an AA meeting in Boracay during our last summer vacation.
Alcoholics in the Philippines, there you have it. You can recover if you want to. AA is free so try that first.
Related Blogs
A Daughter’s story about forgiveness
Meetings
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CONTACT NUMBERS OF ALCOHOLIC ANONYMOUS PHILIPPINES
Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) hotline# +632-890-2247 / +63917-8954254 (Teena M.)
Email: bigbook@edsamail.com.ph / mclm@edsamail.com.ph
ALCOHOLIC ANONYMOUS MEETINGS IN THE PHILIPPINES
Monday at 7:00 PM
Holy Trinity Church
48 A Mckinley Road
Forbes Park Makati
Tuesday at 730PM
St. Andrews Church
Reposo cor Kalayaan
BelAir 2
Monday-Wednesday-Friday at 8:30 PM
Makati Medical Center
College of Nursing Student Lounge
Monday-Wednesday-Friday at 6:30 PM
11th St. New Manila
Thursday at 7:30 PM
Holy Trinity Church
48 A Mckinley Road
Forbes Park Makati
Saturday and Sunday at 8:00 PM
Makati Medical Center
College of Nursing Student Lounge
Saturday at 12:30pm
Seaman’s Club
Bonifacio Drive
8th St. Port Area
Manila
Sunday at 12 noon
Seaman’s Club
Bonifacio Drive
8th St. Port Area
Manila
Technorati Tags: Mel Gibson, alcoholism, Alcoholics Anonymous
Filipina mom) and my journey to a "new normal" after the death of 
I just happened to see your entry at pinoyblog. I have the meeting schedules of AA meetings when I called the number in the telephone book. The dude emailed me this sched. I will gladly share it here:
CONTACT NUMBERS OF ALCOHOLIC ANONYMOUS PHILIPPINES
Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) hotline# +632-890-2247 / +63917-8954254 (Teena M.)
Email: bigbook@edsamail.com.ph / mclm@edsamail.com.ph
ALCOHOLIC ANONYMOUS MEETINGS IN THE PHILIPPINES
Monday at 7:00 PM
Holy Trinity Church
48 A Mckinley Road
Forbes Park Makati
Tuesday at 730PM
St. Andrews Church
Reposo cor Kalayaan
BelAir 2
Monday-Wednesday-Friday at 8:30 PM
Makati Medical Center
College of Nursing Student Lounge
Monday-Wednesday-Friday at 6:30 PM
11th St. New Manila
Thursday at 7:30 PM
Holy Trinity Church
48 A Mckinley Road
Forbes Park Makati
Saturday and Sunday at 8:00 PM
Makati Medical Center
College of Nursing Student Lounge
Saturday at 12:30pm
Seaman’s Club
Bonifacio Drive
8th St. Port Area
Manila
Sunday at 12 noon
Seaman’s Club
Bonifacio Drive
8th St. Port Area
Manila
hay buti na lng naka graduate na ako sa pag iinom bago ko pa marating ang level ni mel gibson.
sakit lang sa katawan makukuha mo jan.. tsk tsk
It’s quite astounding despite the adverse effects of alcoholism that our local youths are often encouraged to drink to demonstrate their inchoate machismo.
Addiction to alcohol may also lead to addictions to other substances or behavior as well — nicotine, sugar, sexual promiscuity, marijuana, excessive spending/shopping and etc. Usually an average addict does not suffer from a single addiction alone, but from multiple addictions.
Although alcoholism has been acknowledged a disease by our medical community, it is oftentimes, a mere symptom to a deeper-seated personal dilemma. And unfortunately, unless the addict himself acknowledges his addiction and is fully willing to combat it, no one is powerful enough to make him or her seek treatment.
A great and timely post, indeed! A subject that must be continually discussed.
@Bobby- thanks. That will be so useful
@eric- good you stopped before you ran out of control
@at the other eric- You’re right. Alcoholism could be an underlying sympton of a problem. Like any other drug, alcohol can numb feelings. I think this is a topic that should be discussed extensively as alcoholism as a disease is still a new concept in our country,
BTW, Noemi, neglected to include the fact that my father was an alcoholic and died from it. He was never abusive or hurtful to anyone; but just the same, his death adversely affected everyone in the family. And although I never acquired a taste for alcohol, I grew up angry for his having died when I was young. Such was the hidden collateral damage brought about by alcoholism. Once I gain the strength, I will blog about this personal trauma.
As you already know, Noemi, my father was also an alcoholic who abused my mother when he was drunk. This led to their separation and it also affected all of us greatly. My father has long been gone now, but we never really talked about the abuse that happened when my sister and I were still little girls. We’d talk about my father once in a while, but just like that pink elephant in the room, we’d just talk around how he drunk too much and how he’d pass out and never really talk about the effects had his drinking on us. It’s good that there is now an Alcoholic Anonymous there in the Philippines because I don’t think we had it back then.
@eric: when I wrote this blog entry, I surfed for blogs that discussed alcoholism in the Philippines setting. If you write about it one day, it wil add to the facts of how alcoholism affects families
@niceheart: Yes I read about it and was truly touched. Do you mind if I link it in this entry? It’s okay if you don’t want.
It’s okay, Noemi. I go ahead and link it. Thanks.
Yes, alcoholism destroys the person and the family. I witnessed it many times. My uncles are alcoholics and they don’t want to be rehabilitated.
I will Noemi. I promise.
The disease concept is commonly accepted in the US. It is gaining in popularity around the world.
Bill
I know a family in the Philippines that is being distroyed by Alcoholism . They were unaware of AA. I found this site and was happy to see that alcoholics anonymous is available in the Philippines. It has been the most effective way of treating the disease . It has saved many lives and families. Awareness is a first step.
i have a hangover right now at this moment.kaya hinanap ko na hinanp ko na AA philippines .i need a support group.im just 27 and became adrunkardvery early.i fought with drinking in a year,after learning meditation.but is now deafeated by it again.i still wont give up.ill be going to manila.i have to find aa philippines.and ask for help.
hi everybody.
im tata an alcoholic. im glad i surfed this site. i was looking for some article/pictures on alcoholism for my lecture to university students. im a faculty member till now who changed my teaching schedule. now all my schedules are in the morning starting at 7 am. i’m done on absentism problem when i stopped drinking 20 months ago. i used to teach during the afternoon schedule but sometimes i could not meet my students because of alcohol.
not only that, because of alcohol, i lost my wife through separation. i committed physical, sexual, emotional and financial abuse that even my eldest daughter till now hates me.
i have a girlfriend but she left me then because after 18 years of separation i saw the pattern of my abuses to my first wife. now she is 6 months pregnant.
i also endangered my daughter and son lives while driving drunk or with hangover. while i was working in san pablo city, laguna i was few seconds away to be hit by a passing train.
i resigned from my job thinking that it was boring and physically exhausting. yes it was boring and exhausting because i used to open and closed karaoke bars and do field work in the morning and slept in the afternoon.
financially i was negative despite my contract growing with magnolia chicken. now im about to recover and pay my debts.
above all, i was spiritually bankrupt. i thank my loving God that he brought me to a rehab ( i volunteered myself for 45 days). for the first 3 weeks i struggled because i wanted to go home but after my 4th week i was afraid to go out because i felt safe. the center introduced me the 12 steps.
thank you guys.
Thanks for all the information, ma’am Noemi. My dad’s friend in community is looking for an alcoholics program so that she could get her son to recover.
To all alcoholics, I somehow feel your pain in another way, and about another kind of dependency. There are many ways that people can get dependent. And there is always hope even at the lowest ebb of the recovery experience.
guys,
how do we arrange meetings with aa philippines? need your help got a friend who is sick of drinking alcohol…
I am a dry alcoholic and on a 4 month holday in the Philippines.
I live in a vilage called San Nicolas near tayuk or Urganata. I would like to meat other alcoholics for a meeting. Who can help.
hi alex, if you live at San Nicolas Pangasinan near Tayug or Urdaneta, there are Alcoholics Anonymous Meetings in Baguio City just an hour
ride from your place..
AA Baguio meetings are Mon Wed Fri Sat 10am
at the Baguio Cathedral Rectory.
and Mon Wed Fri 6PM at the Silungan Center between Barrio Fiesta and NBI very near SM Baguio.
See you there brother….
I want to thank the man who posted the meeting list. I am mailing it from Denmark to my boyfriend who is working in Manila right now.
I am most grateful.
Hello,
I am trying to find an AA meeting in Caloocan City.
Do you have the address or telephone number
Hi,
I will be visiting Boracy in less that two weeks and would love to find a meeting there (hey, even “whereever two or more are gathered” works!)
I am sober almost 25 years and absolutely insist on enjoying life - and I do. (check out my book “The Glumlot Letters” at amazon or google, etc.)
write to me at gratt2d at yahoo THX!
Stanley M.
I met AA in Baguio when I monitored one of the patient attending AA meetings and everyone in the group was inviting me to attend the. Im not an alcoholic but my father died from alcohol. I never attended a single meeting, because it scares me. But i was kind of thinking of it most of the time. that is just what i really dont understand.
glad to find this site,, its really helpful for us recovering. even reading the sharing really reminds me of my desease,,a site were we can share our strenght and hope.more power buddy.
i am trying to find an AA group or any alcoholic rehab center in Bohol or Cebu. Can anybody help me find a place or contact person?
Hello:
My addiction is not with alcohol but with sex; I’ve led a promiscuous, guilt-filled life these past three years, moving from one partner to another. Do you know of a support group in Metro Manila I can turn to? Please help me…
To all those wanting to know the meetings, contact this
CONTACT NUMBERS OF ALCOHOLIC ANONYMOUS PHILIPPINES
Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) hotline# +632-890-2247 / +63917-8954254 (Teena M.)
Telefax 890-2247
Email: bigbook@edsamail.com.ph / mclm@edsamail.com.ph
TO Adam: please contact a counselor. They will refer you to the anonymous group. You have to understand that one can’t just step in without referral.
Hi -
I’m visiting from Los Angeles - Looking for meetings near the Dusit hotel in downtown. Are there any? I’m also out working near here:
Buencamino Street, Alabang
Muntinlupa City
Philippines 1770
thanks.
-tbf