Marcos admin eyes drug rehab facility per province by 2028

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. delivers his speech at the Malacañan Palace grounds in Manila on Friday, November 3, 2023. INQUIRER.net/Ryan Leagogo

MANILA, Philippines — The administration of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. is targeting to set up a drug treatment and rehabilitation facility for each province by June 2028.

The administration also aims to establish community-based drug rehabilitation programs (CBDRPs) and Anti-Drug Abuse Councils (ADACs) in all provinces, cities, municipalities, and barangays.

The Palace announced the plans as it revealed that roughly P10.41 billion worth of illegal drugs were confiscated while more than 27,000 barangays were cleared of narcotics in 2023, attributing these achievements to Marcos’ renewed, holistic approach against illegal drugs.

“Moving forward, the administration targets by June 2028 to reduce the target-listed drug personalities by 10 percent of the annual target list and establish CBDRPs and ADACs in all provinces, cities, municipalities, and barangays,” the Presidential Communications Office (PCO) said in a statement.

The PCO cited a report from the Philippine National Police that 23 provinces, 447 municipalities, and 43 cities have established CBDRPs, while 50 provinces, 1,160 towns, and 30 cities have ADACs as of 2023.

It also said that the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency has trained local government units on anti-illegal drug advocacy and rehabilitation campaign programs.

Marcos previously said the illegal drug problem is a mental health issue, emphasizing the importance of rehabilitation.

READ: Marcos admin’s anti-drug campaign ‘not as intense’ as Duterte’s – Dela Rosa

His approach to the illegal drug menace differed from the method of his predecessor, former president Rodrigo Duterte, whose bloody war on drugs prompted an investigation from the International Criminal Court amid allegations of massive human rights abuses.