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Monday, July 07, 2003
Arroyo orders jails, rehab centers expanded
By She Caguimbal-Torres
MANILA -- President Arroyo is ordering the expansion of drug rehabilitation centers and jail cells to accommodate the influx of arrested drug pushers and users as well as those who voluntarily surrender.
Arroyo said during a conference at the Clark Development Corporation (CDC) that law enforcement agencies must speed up the expansion of the facilities, as there would be no let-up in the anti-illegal drug campaign.
She added that aside from the jail cells, more rehabilitation centers should be opened up as "the intensified crackdown against drug syndicates and pushers" has led to many in the trade coming out and undergoing rehabilitation.
Interior Secretary Jose Lina Jr. was directed to tap the P1 billion allotted for the anti-drug program and for the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) to have jail cells and rehabilitation centers expanded.
Lina said they would conduct an inventory of the jails and rehabilitation centers in the country and prioritize the heavily congested detention centers.
Rehabilitation centers would be built in regions where there are no such facilities.
He added the government would also expand the "smaller" rehabilitation centers and go on a joint venture with privately operated facilities.
Lina earlier announced that the government was already considering the transfer of convicted drug pushers from the New Bilibid Prisons in Muntinlupa to the Iwahig Penal Colony in Palawan to help decongest the jail.
Reports from the Bureau of Jail and Management Penology (BJMP) said of the 45,227 inmates they have, 24 percent are being held for drug-related crimes.
Presidential spokesman Ignacio Bunye said there would be no let-up in the government's campaign against illegal drugs, even if President Arroyo is already being criticized for her campaign and accused of politicking.
"Ito'ng laban sa ipinagbabawal na gamot sa isang gera na dapat nating tulungan (This campaign against illegal drugs is a war that we all should help government in). We don't see anything political about addressing a problem that has plagued us for so long. Ito ay napakalaking problema na ang naapektuhan ay (This is a big problem affecting) all levels of society," he said in a radio interview.
Bunye added that the President is serious in the campaign against illegal drugs, contrary to the claims of former senator Juan Ponce Enrile that it is all for show in preparation for Arroyo's plan to run in the 2004 presidential elections.
(July 7, 2003 issue)
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