Editorial: Second chance

BACOLOD City will soon have a drug treatment and rehabilitation center in Barangay Alijis.

City officials led by Mayor Evelio Leonardia, along with Dangerous Drugs Board chairman Catalino Cuy and Undersecretary Earl Saavedra, spearheaded the groundbreaking rites of the P35-million drug treatment facility on Friday, August 17.

The DDB officials also turned over P10 million for the construction of the facility. The remaining P25 million will be shouldered by the city government.

The 52-bed capacity rehabilitation center will have an administration building, male and female quarters, multi-purpose and mess building and pavilion.

Cuy said they have a mandate to provide at least one drug rehabilitation center per province through the Department of Health (DOH). There are only 49 DOH-accredited rehabilitation centers in the country.

He said the mission of the government is to attain a drug-free Philippines in 2022.

Saavedra, for his part, said they prioritized anti-drug initiatives of the local government.

He said the facility will not only cater drug dependents from Bacolod City but also neighboring localities.

What we want is the provision of services and continuum of care in place especially when this facility will open and help drug dependents recover from their addictions, he said.

The presence of rehabilitation centers shows that former drug users are being given the chance to reintegrate themselves to the community. They will be allowed to have a second chance so they will not anymore succumb to the ill effects of drugs, the DDB official said.

The center will not only cater to the addiction of the drug users but also provide a preventive education program to the different communities, he added.

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