DILG: Traders vow support for rehab

THE DEPARTMENT of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) has unveiled plans to set up drug rehabilitation centers nationwide with the help of some of the country’s biggest businessmen.

In a statement on Saturday, DILG Undersecretary for Operations John Castriciones said the plans were discussed in a recent meeting in Malacañang attended by Interior Secretary Ismael Sueno, the undersecretaries and assistant secretaries, Cabinet Secretary Jun Evasco and 13 top businessmen.

Among the businessmen present were Megaworld Corp. president and chief executive officer Andrew Tan, Vista Land and Lifescapes Inc. chair Manuel Villar and Jollibee Food Corp. chief executive officer Ernesto Tanmantiong.

Castriciones said the DILG will enter into a memorandum of agreement with the businesses to document the contributions they can make to the drug rehabilitation program.

“There were initial discussions and some of them manifested that they would be willing to donate funds for the construction of rehabilitation centers,” he said.

The program covers the construction of four rehabilitation centers nationwide—two in Luzon, one in the Visayas and another in Mindanao. Another proposal calls for the building of one rehab center in each region.

Each center could accommodate at least 500 drug dependents, Castriciones said.

He said the comprehensive rehabilitation program plans to address the reformation and recovery of the 700,000 drug users who have surrendered under President Duterte’s anti-illegal drugs campaign.

10% to be committed

The DILG cited the Department of Health and the Dangerous Drugs Board as saying that of those who turned themselves in, 10 percent or 70,000 will be committed to the government-run rehabilitation centers.

The rest, Castriciones said, will undergo comprehensive community-based rehabilitation, in which they would be outpatients.

Under this alternative program, those who surrendered, particularly in the rural areas, will participate in tree-planting activities or livestock-raising.

Those in the urban areas will take part in the cleanup of “esteros” and waterways and will undergo training for vocational skills with the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority.