New drug rehab facility to open in Camp Bagong Diwa in 2018

A new drug rehabilitation facility will open in Camp Bagong Diwa in Taguig City in 2018, following the opening of the "mega" drug rehabilitation center in Nueva Ecija this year, a Department of Health (DOH) official said Tuesday.

A report on QRT said the construction of the facility will be funded by a private firm while its operations will be run by the DOH.

"Talagang marami po ang tumutulong sa ating pamahalaan at nagpapasalamat naman po kami," said DOH director Eric Tayag. "Yan po ay paghahandaan ng Department of Health."

The report did not mention the private firm involved in the project, but in a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange, Alliance Global Group Inc. (AGI) said it has entered into a partnership deal with the government to build a modern drug rehabilitation and treatment facility in Taguig City.

The Andrew Tan-led conglomerate said the deed of donation for the new drug rehabilitation facility is under a memorandum of agreement (MOA) signed by AGI, the Office of the Cabinet Secretary, the DOH, Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG), and city government of Taguig.

"Nakasaad po dun ang responsibilidad ng bawat isa," Tayag said, referring to the MOA.

It would be the second drug rehabilitation facility that will be opened under President Rodrigo Duterte, who made the war on illegal drugs a priority of his administration. Last month, a 10,000-bed mega rehabilitation center was opened inside Fort Magsaysay in Nueva Ecija.

The QRT report said the 500-bed facility will have a physical therapy center, an outpatient department building, swimming pool, basketball court, and a gym.

In AGI's diclosure, Executive Director Kewin Tan said, "Alliance Global expresses its full support to the ongoing drug rehabilitation program of the government. This modern facility is part of the company’s social responsibility in helping the government to accommodate the rising numbers of drug surrenderers and help prepare drug dependents to slowly regain their normal lives in a safe and healthy way."

Interior Secretary Ismael Sueno said the rehabilitation center will be a big help to the government's campaign against illegal drugs, noting the large number of drug users who surrendered to the authorities following the crackdown.

Latest available data showed, there are only 44 DOH-accredited drug abuse treatment and rehabilitation centers in the country. About 15 out of the 44 facilities are government-owned and can only serve a total of about 5,300 in-patients, which are insufficient to serve the surrenderers.

AGI committed P1.2 billion for two to four rehabilitation facilities in the country. The company earlier announced the construction of a facility in Davao, while two more facilities in the Visayas and Mindanao may be announced next year.

Alliance Global Group is the holding firm of Megaworld Corp., Emperador Distilleries, Golden Arches Development Corp., and Travellers International Hotel Group. —John Ted Cordero and Rie Takumi/KBK, GMA News

"Nakasaad po dun ang responsibilidad ng bawat isa," Tayag said.