By PNA
GENERAL SANTOS CITY — The city government has forged a partnership with an oil firm for the establishment of a community-based drug rehabilitation center in a village here.
City officials and executives of Sea Oil Philippines Inc. signed a memorandum of understanding on Tuesday for the construction of the drug rehabilitation facility in Purok Banualan, Barangay Tambler here.
The signing coincided with the groundbreaking ceremony for the facility, which is targeted to open late next year.
Glen Yu, Sea Oil president and chief executive officer, said they are looking at the development of a holistic rehabilitation program in the area, in collaboration with the city government.
He said the project is due for completion in eight to 10 months and would cost around PHP8 to PHP10 million.
Uy said they decided to partner with the city as it already has an anti-drug program that is “well-entrenched” and being implemented “on the ground” by the local government, police, barangays and other concerned sectors.
He was referring to the city government’s “Purok Laban sa Krimen,” an anti-drug program that aims to extend participation to the smallest unit of the community.
It was launched by the local government in September 2016 to support President Rodrigo R. Duterte’s “war against illegal drugs.”
“The entire community is really involved in the program,” Uy said.
He said they came up with the initiative after exploring possible engagements that will have greater impact on the people.
“Sea Oil is also in the business of people. We looked into the drug rehabilitation program and we believe that this would be the most effective,” he said in an interview with reporters.
For the rehabilitation program, Uy said they want the families of victims to be involved as well.
He said their assessment showed that in most cases, family-related problems or circumstances were the root cause of drug addiction.
Mayor Ronnel Rivera said they are currently crafting the mechanisms that will govern the operations of the facility, which will mainly focus on the total transformation of drug victims to eventually make them productive citizens.
“They would be equipped properly so they can lead normal lives and make sure that they will not return to drug-related activities,” he said.
The mayor said they will tap the City Social Welfare and Development Office and the barangay social workers for the rollout of the program.
He said social workers will determine whether a patient would need to be admitted to the facility or receive other interventions.
