AN OFFICIAL of the Department of Health (DOH) in Northern Mindanao said a Philippine Army camp in Bukidnon is being eyed as a drug rehabilitation center for Oplan Tokhang 'responders' but said this would not be possible without the support of the private sector.
Dr. Benson Go, chief of the lone government-owned Treatment and Rehabilitation Center (TRC) here, said the National Government alone will not be able to shoulder the expenses of the planned drug rehabilitation program.
"Amoa na siyang naadto actually, pero sa among latest meeting sa DOH, mahitabo lang na siya kung naay donor from the private sector," Go said.
Recently, the Department of National Defense (DND) identified the 4th Infantry Division's (4ID) army training facility in Sitio Kibaritan in Barangay Malinao, Kalilangan town in Bukidnon as a possible venue for the drug rehabilitation center.
Aside from the Bukidnon camp, the Army has also offered the 7th Infantry Division’s camp in Fort Magsaysay, in Nueva Ecija, Camp Macario Peralta in Jamindan, Capiz where the Army’s 3rd Infantry Division is located, and Camp Capinpin in Tanay, Rizal.
Go said no private company here has expressed its intent to donate any amount for the proposed rehabilitation facility.
"For example sa case sa Luzon, nagdonate ang San Miguel og P1 billion for these surenderees so mao nang makatukod gyud sila didto ug isa ka kampo sa Luzon," he said.
"Ingana pud ang kaso sa Mindanao, for so long as walay mo-donate, dili pa gyud ni mabuo nga plan," he said.
Go said the creation of rehabilitation facilities nationwide in army camps is only temporary, and that the DOH's long-term plan is to improve built-in facilities in hospitals here.
Go adds that the government's focus is to bolster out-patient and community-based treatment rather than sending drug users to a treatment center.
"We expect na ang ma-admit aning mga nanurrender is only around 5-10 percent of the total number of drug surrenderees," he said.
Go said they are also working on the expansion of the TRC, from a 50-bed capacity to 500-bed capacity next year.
He said part of the City Government's aim is to make Cagayan de Oro a center for rehabilitation in the island of Mindanao.