“Mega” sounds about right.
The Department of Health will today, Nov 29, inaugurate the massive 10,000-bed Mega Drug Treatment and Rehabilitation Center at a military camp in Laur, Nueva Ecija province.
The facility will house patients from overcrowded drug rehabilitation centers in different parts of the Philippines. Some 700,000 drug users who had turned themselves in to authorities are expected to move in.
President Rodrigo Duterte, who ordered the construction of the 10-hectare camp is expected to lead the inauguration. The launch of the Drug Abuse Treatment and Rehabilitation Center (DATRC) could offer a new approach in dealing with the country’s drug problem.
It may be recalled that President Duterte had earlier said that individuals who are into drugs are “beyond redemption.”
“The DATRC is part of the effort to address the health component of the war on drugs even as the law enforcement aspect continues throughout the country to eliminate the drug menace,” Malacañang said in a statement as published by the Philippine Daily Inquirer.
“We hope that it will really help the victims of the illegal drug trade. The patients are actually victims of the illegal drug trade so we want to ensure that they are provided adequate and compassionate services for rehabilitation,” said Health Secretary Paulyn Ubial.
According to the Inquirer report, Chinese businessman Huang Rulun donated the funds for the construction. He is also the developer of the largest shopping mall in Asia.
