PDEA opens rehab center for women in Caloocan
MANILA, Philippines — The Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) inaugurated yesterday a drug rehabilitation center catering exclusively to women in Caloocan City.
PDEA chief Aaron Aquino led the opening of Balay Silangan, a 30-bed reformation center at the Caloocan North Medical Center.
Aquino said the center would also offer values formation and livelihood assistance to drug dependents while undergoing rehabilitation.
He said they chose Caloocan as the location of the first Balay Silangan in the metropolis since there were around 6,000 drug surrenderees in the city.
Only five out of 188 barangays in Caloocan have been declared drug-free, the PDEA said.
Mayor Oscar Malapitan said the shelter would give priority to drug dependents who are mothers.
Fr. Luciano Felloni, who heads a parish-based drug rehabilitation program in Camarin, said drug dependents should be treated as victims and not criminals.
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