Duterte forms task force to create, support drug rehab centers
President Rodrigo Duterte has signed an executive order creating an inter-agency task force for the establishment of and to support drug rehabilitation centers in the Philippines.
The Executive Order (EO) No. 4, which was signed on October 11, ordered the establishment of and support for drug abuse treatment and rehabilitation centers (DATRCs) throughout the country.
Interior Secretary Ismael “Mike” Sueno will lead the task force while the health secretary and the chairman of the Dangerous Drugs Board will serve as the vice chairpersons.
Other members of the task force include secretaries of social welfare, budget, the director general of the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency, and a representative of the Office of the President.
With at least 751,933 drug surrenderers as of October 14, the EO was issued “to provide effective mechanism or measures to re-integrate into society individuals, who have fallen victim to drug abuse or dangerous drug dependence, through sustainable programs of treatment and rehabilitation.”
The EO ordered the task force to establish drug rehabilitation centers in military camps to accommodate the rise in drug surrenderers.
Article continues after this advertisementThe Department of Health (DOH), the EO said, would be the one to maintain and operate the drug rehabilitation centers in the country, including those in military camps.
Article continues after this advertisementDuterte had earlier said that a China-funded drug rehabilitation center is nearing its completion in Fort Magsaysay in Nueva Ecija.
READ: Duterte: China-funded rehab center almost complete
The EO said funding for the implementation of the EO “shall be sourced from the appropriations of the members of the task force and other applicable funding sources, subject to pertinent laws, rules and regulations.”
It added that the budgetary requirements for the succeeding fiscal years shall be incorporated in the budget proposals of concerned agencies. CDG
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