The first government-run drug abuse treatment and rehabilitation center (TRC) in the Cordillera will be operational by the third quarter of 2023 if the licenses and accreditation needed are issued by then, the Department of Health announced.
The 100-bed TRC located on a one hectare public lot adjacent to the Luis Hora Memorial Regional Hospital in Bauko, Mountain Province is presently complying with the licensing and accreditation requirements of the DOH and is completing its organizational setup and other infrastructure such as its septage facility, said DOH-Cordillera Medical Officer IV Alexei Marrero.
To prepare the current personnel, capacity building and strategic planning workshops and site visits at rehabilitation centers in Taguig and Dagupan have also been organized.
Also in the pipeline is the signing of memoranda of understanding between the DOH and the local government units which, among others, include the latter’s commitment to shoulder the cost of the surrenderer’s admission in the TRC, Marrero added.
Marrero said the issue about the land dispute has also been addressed with the Department of the Environment and Natural Resources awarding the area to the DOH through a proclamation that is due for signing by President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr.
Government has embarked on the construction of rehabilitation of centers nationwide following the highly-criticized bloody war on drugs by the past administration.
Experts in the medical field, sociologists, and law enforcers however said addressing the drug problem should not concentrate on the use alone but should also address a contraband’s source, improvement on prosecution, and strengthening public knowledge about the effects of drug use.
In medicine, drug addiction is considered a disease, which necessitates treatment and rehabilitation.
Groundwork for the construction of the TRC began in 2016, as the DOH allotted P65 million for the project. – Rimaliza A. Opiña
April 26, 2024
