San Miguel, Duterte Government To Build P1 Billion Drug Rehab Center In Bataan

Diversified conglomerate San Miguel Corp. (SMC), through its social development arm San Miguel Foundation, and the Philippine government on Wednesday signed an agreement to construct a drug rehabilitation facility in the province of Bataan.

In an emailed statement, SMC said the signing of agreement was in line with its earlier commitment to support the Duterte government’s campaign against illegal drugs.

The company said that the rehabilitation facility would be the first of several that the company is looking to build under a P1-billion donation it pledged to the government in August.

“We’re fully supportive of our government’s anti-drug dependency efforts. We want to be able to do our part in helping drug dependents reform, especially the youth,” SMC President and Chief Operating Officer Ramon S. Ang said.

“With the right guidance, we’re hopeful they can re-enter society with positivity and become productive individuals,” he added.

“This is why we are putting a lot of energy and thought into this program. More than just a physical structure, we want this facility to have significant meaning to many families who have been affected by illegal drugs,” Ang explained.

“We hope it will provide former drug users the means to truly change their lives for the better, for good,” he added.

Furthermore, the agreement was signed by SMC’s Ang, Cabinet Secretary Leoncio Evasco Jr., Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) Secretary Ismael Sueno, Department of Health Secretary (DOH) Paulyn Jean Rosell-Ubial, Bataan Provincial Governor Albert Garcia, non-profit organization Pilipinong May Puso Foundation Inc.’s (PMPF) chairperson Rowena Kristina Amara Velasco.

Under the agreement, the SMC will provide funding and undertake construction of the rehabilitation facility, which will be built on land identified and provided by the provincial government of Bataan.

Moreover, the DOH will run and maintain the facility and will provide specifications for the facility in consultation with the DILG and the Office of the President.

The PMPF will develop and provide sustainable livelihood programs and capability-building activities for recovering drug dependents.

It will also provide skills training at the facility, which include modules on entrepreneurship, handicrafts, basic computer and information technology skills, horticulture and animal raising, among others.

Source: GMA News