Drug rehabilitation center with help from China launched in Philippines

A drug rehabilitation center assisted by the Chinese government held a handover and unveiling ceremony on Apr 8 in the southern Agusan province of Mindanao in the southern Philippines. The drug rehabilitation center will be officially in use soon.

At the handover ceremony, the Chinese side handed over a key that imprinted with the two countries' national flags and representing the completion of the project to the Philippine side. Then the officials of the two countries jointly unveiled the drug rehabilitation center.

Philippine Undersecretary of the Department of Health Roger Tong An and the Chinese Embassy's Economic and Commercial Counselor Jin Yuan attended the ceremony.

Tong An said that thanks to the Chinese government's generous support for the Philippine anti-drug cause, South Agusan province now has its first drug rehabilitation center.

With the concerted efforts of China and the Philippines, the drug rehabilitation center project completed construction in about a year, which is a model for the “going out” of Chinese projects, Jin said.

Construction of the drug rehabilitation center started in February 2018. Covering about 3 hectares and has a total construction area of 6,750 square meters, the center is equipped with facilities for treatment, training and rehabilitation, and will also provide drug dependence testing and consultation services to people in the southern Philippines.

According to official Philippine statistics there are nearly 4 million drug users in the country. After taking office in 2016, President Duterte vigorously promoted large-scale country-wide anti-drug operations.

At present, most of the Philippine drug rehabilitation centers are concentrated in the northern Luzon Island. The drug rehabilitation center in the Sarangani province in southern Mindanao, which was built by China was handed over to the Philippines at the end of last year and opened for use this year.