QC gov’t pouring funds into new drug test centers

The Quezon City government has approved an ordinance that would establish four new drug testing laboratories in the city, including two that will open in government hospitals.

As proposed by Councilor Gian Carlo Sotto, the author of the ordinance, the laboratories would be built at Quezon City General Hospital, Novaliches District Hospital and Quezon City Health Department.

The city government will also be establishing one in Tahanan, its only local treatment and rehabilitation center, which can accommodate 300 patients.

According to the measure, the four centers will be responsible for the drug testing to be required by the city government.

The ordinance, which was approved and signed by Mayor Herbert Bautista on Dec. 5, has also appropriated funds for their operation starting next year. The funding has been included in the annual budget of each department for 2017.

The Quezon City General Hospital will allot P4.6 million for its new lab, while the Novaliches District Hospital will allocate P1.6 million. Tahanan will have P2.9 million for its testing center.

Chief Supt. Guillermo Lorenzo Eleazar, director of the Quezon City Police District, welcomed the measure, saying it could help local authorities in their antidrug campaign under “Project Double Barrel Alpha.”

“We really need these new drug testing centers that can assist us in our barangay drug-clearing operations,” he said.

After five months of the intensified antidrug drive, Eleazar said, the police are now looking for barangays that can be declared as drug-free.

A proposal to build a special anti-illegal drug education center was also approved by the city council on Dec. 5, allocating P30 million for the establishment of a facility for drug abuse prevention education.