DOH eyes setting up drug rehab centers on PH islands

Detainees sleep on the floor as they await processing during the operations targeting drug personalities, persons with warrant of arrest and violators of city ordinances of the PNP Eastern Police District covering the area of Pasig, Marikina, Mandaluyong and San Juan City at the EPD Headquarters in Pasig. 198 people were arrested during the operations.INQUIRER PHOTO/RAFFY LERMA

MANILA — The government is looking at sending drug dependents to islands where they will undergo rehabilitation, according to Health Secretary Paulyn Ubial.

“Among the things being considered now is to bring drug users who surrender to authorities to government-owned islands,” said Ubial in a press briefing.

She said the idea was recommended by Philippine National Police (PNP) Chief Ronald “Bato” Dela Rosa during their recent Cabinet meeting.

“We will provide them with the needed support because for us drug users or addicts are victims. They are the victims of drug pushers,” Ubial said.

Asked whether she was referring to islands that are the subject of dispute between the Philippines and China, Ubial said: “We can now send them there because it’s now ours,” she said in jest.

“These are islands owned by the government. At least there, we can easily secure them if we take to these places,” Ubial added.

But she stressed that the place where the drug dependents would be brought would not matter.

“For us in the DOH, whether it’s in an island or not, we’ll do the same thing. We’ll do the same approach as far as providing them with rehabilitation services is concerned. We will train the people whom the PNP will assign in the area, it’s just technical assistance on our part, we won’t be involved in the operations,” Ubial explained.

According to the health chief, they intend to standardize the assessment form they use for drug dependents who surrender to the authorities.

“If they have criminal liability, the police will handle them, BJMP, but they will still be given rehabilitation services. Another category is drug dependents who are not regular users or experimental users.  We will do community-based intervention for them, brief advice and continuous monitoring,” said Ubial.

According to Ubial, the DOH is still assessing if they can subject to drug test all of those who will fall under the community-based program, saying it will depend on their supplies and the number of patients.

Health Secretary Paulyn Ubial. (INQUIRER.NET FILE PHOTO)

“If it’s only 41,000, which is the number given to us last Monday by PNP Chief Bato dela Rosa, we can do it. But if their number reaches to more than 200,000, we might find it difficult to subject all of them to drug tests,” said Ubial.

“But we also have 20 drug rehabilitation centers under the DOH and local government units that can accommodate around 5,000 patients nationwide,” she added.

Some of the local government units are volunteering facilities that they will convert into temporary rehabilitation facilities.

“We can immediately train people the LGUs will hire to manage these facilities. We have immediate mobilization for another 5,000 patients,” she said.  SFM/rga