A community-based drug rehabilitation and youth education center will soon rise in Naga City after the city government secured a P5-million grant from the Dangerous Drugs Board (DDB), expanding access to rehabilitation services while strengthening preventive education for young people.
Dangerous Drugs Board Executive Director Usec. Earl Saavedra said the facility will complement the city’s existing community-based drug rehabilitation program and serve as a hub for youth-focused prevention initiatives in partnership with the Sangguniang Kabataan.
“It will also serve kasi as a preventive education facility, lalong lalo na kung saan mabibigyan natin ng preventive education program and advocacy initiatives ang kabataan so that yung kanilang vulnerabilities pagdating sa substance for drug use ay maagapan,” Saavedra said.
He said the project reflects the DDB’s continuing support for local governments that invest in community-based rehabilitation and preventive education to strengthen anti-illegal drug efforts at the grassroots.
“The city naman all these years has exhibited na talagang dapat bigyan ng assistance ng national government para mas lalo pang paigtingin ang implementation of the local anti drug campaign,” he noted.
Saavedra clarified that the construction of the facility does not directly translate to a higher incidence of drug use. Instead, he said, it is a significant step toward expanding preventive education and providing interventions that could help prevent incarceration, particularly among the youth, because of illegal drug use.
Naga City Mayor Leni Robredo thanked the DDB during the turnover of the P5-million grant on June 29 at Naga City Hall. Robredo previously worked with Saavedra during her term as co-chair of the inter-agency committee on anti-illegal drugs.
With the funding secured, the city government is set to begin construction of the facility, which is expected to strengthen Naga’s community-based drug rehabilitation program and expand preventive education initiatives for the city’s youth.
Photo courtesy of Mayor Leni Robredo
Source: PIA Camarines Sur