The Quezon City government wants to put its rehabilitation centers for drug addicts and youth offenders in a much bigger compound that will facilitate their expansion.
A proposed ordinance pending at the city council proposes the expansion of Tahanan, the rehabilitation center for drug addicts, and the transfer of Molave Youth Home, which caters to children in conflict with the law.
City planning and development chief Sonny Rodriguez said the project would involve the purchase of a 9,000-square-meter property at Diamond Hills Subdivision in Barangay Payatas, where Tahanan was already situated.
Molave is currently housed at the city hall compound where it occupies the second floor of the social service development department office.
According to Rodriguez, they plan to buy 16 lots from several private owners. Around 30 families squatting on the targeted pieces of land, on the other hand, will be relocated under the city’s low-cost housing program.
“We are really rushing this given the number of surrenderers we have to cater to,” he told the Inquirer, adding that there were also plans to put up homes for senior citizens and those afflicted with AIDS. For now, however, priority was being given to drug rehabilitation centers.
Dawn Tan, Tahanan’s section head of administration, said that the measure was a welcome development for the city’s lone drug rehabilitation center.
From 150 beds, Tahanan’s capacity has doubled to 300 after the Department of Health allowed the city government to admit more people who wanted to kick the drug habit.
“Given that, we may also need more funds and more personnel to operate efficiently,” Tan said.
Established in 1973, Molave has also been operating at full capacity, housing nearly 200 juvenile offenders although it can hold only 75.
Maribel Cayco, head of the residential and rehabilitation department, said the proposal was to move Molave to Diamond Hills Subdivision where a four-story building would be built on a 3,000-square-meter property.
“This will really be an ideal place for rehabilitation,” she added, noting that the new building was expected to house 320 minors.
The resolution, filed by Councilors Franz Pumaren, Godofredo Liban II and Raquel Malañgen, has been approved on first reading and is currently undergoing deliberations at the committee level.