THE two Department of Health (DOH)-run inpatient drug abuse rehabilitation centers in Cebu will receive a combined P143.5 million for their operations next year, plus P27 million to expand their bed capacities, House Assistant Majority Leader and Cebu Rep. Eduardo Gullas said on Sunday.
Gullas said the DOH-run rehabilitation centers in the Municipality of Argao and in Mandaue City will be getting P84.8 million and P58.7 million, respectively, for their operations in 2022.
"Apart from their operating budgets, the Argao center will receive P17 million for infrastructure spending to increase its bed capacity, while the one in Mandaue will get P10 million for the same purpose," Gullas said.
"They will get the infrastructure funds from the Health Facilities and Enhancement Program, a lump sum in the 2022 national budget," Gullas, former Cebu provincial governor, said.
The 110-bed Mandaue center, inaugurated only in 2019, is the country’s first and only public facility dedicated exclusively to treating female drug dependents.
The 300-bed Argao center is one of the country’s oldest, established way back in 1984.
"The drug scourge is both a law enforcement and a public health problem. And the problem has two sides – the supply side (the traffickers and pushers) and the demand side (users)," Gullas pointed out.
"We have to attack both sides of the problem simultaneously," Gullas said.
"The Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency is there to run after traffickers and pushers, while our rehabilitation centers are there to treat users," Gullas said.
"There will always be suppliers as long as there is demand. Thus, we really have to increase the bed capacities of our treatment facilities if we want to reduce the demand side of the problem," Gullas said. (PR)