THE groundbreaking for the P35-million Bacolod City Drug Treatment and Rehabilitation Center project at the city-government owned lot at the City Agriculture Office Demo Farm in Barangay Alijis was held Friday, August 17.
Leading the groundbreaking rites were Dangerous Drugs Board (DDB) chairman Catalino Cuy, Undersecretary Earl Saavedra, Bacolod City Mayor Evelio Leonardia, and Representative Greg Gasataya, along with other government officials.
Before the groundbreaking ceremony, Leonardia signed the memorandum of agreement (MOA) with Cuy at the Government Center. Cuy then turned over the check worth P10 million to the mayor for the construction of the drug rehabilitation building.
The remaining P25 million will be shouldered by the City Government.
Cuy said the DDB is mandated by Republic Act 9165 or the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002 to extend assistance for the establishment and maintenance of drug treatment and rehabilitation centers in the country.
He said the Board is the policymaking and strategy-formulating body in the planning and formulation of policies and programs on drug prevention and control which shall develop and adopt comprehensive, integrated, unified and balanced national drug abuse prevention and control strategy.
He added the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) is the implementing arm of the government along with the Philippine National Police, National Bureau Investigation (NBI), Bureau of Customs.
The rehabilitation center will have an administration building, male and female quarters, multi-purpose and mess building and pavilion. It will be constructed with a bed capacity of 52.
Cuy said they have a mandate to provide at least one drug rehabilitation center per province through the Department of Health (DOH).
He said at present, there are only 49 DOH-accredited rehabilitation centers nationwide.
“We are here to support the local government unit who intends to put their own rehab center. If we have the available funds, we will support the DOH rehab center,” he added.
Cuy noted that the DDB has a budget for the LGU that will engage in the construction of a rehab center.
The mission of the DDB and PDEA is to attain a drug-free Philippines in 2022.
“It’s our target and it’s a challenge for us. We just support everybody and hoping that we can attain these,” Cuy said.
For his part, Leonardia said the City Government is very thankful to the DDB for the implementation of this project in the city.
He said it’s relevant and meaningful for Bacolod because they considered it as recognition of the participation of the city government and its officials in the campaign against illegal drugs.
He added the actual operation of the rehab center will depend on how fast the project will be completed.
Gasataya said he is also thankful to the DDB for doing this project for Bacolod.
“This is a clear example of a good working relationship between the national and local government officials,” he added.
The facility will cater to drug surrenderers with severe substance use disorder/