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OVERCROWDED: A look at PH's biggest rehab center

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Primy Cane, ABS-CBN News

<figure class="op-interactive"><div style="padding-top:66.375%"><div id="IVS_ABS_Body_Video_1_Container"> <ivs-player id="IVS_ABS_Body_Video_1" data-ivs-spid="3001339" data-ivs-key="e8c22c015ca9eafa76f1e3edfa03c603" data-ivs-vid="1465029" data-ivs-floating="1"></ivs-player> <script src="https://player.ivideosmart.com/ivsplayer/v4/dist/js/iframe-parent.js"></script> <script src="https://player.ivideosmart.com/ivsplayer/v4/dist/js/loader.js"></script> </div></div></figure><p>MANILA – Imagine a dorm so overcrowded that every bit of floor space has been covered by mats and mattresses where people sleep every day. </p><p>Imagine having to get in line early every day to use the toilet, or bathe on a predetermined schedule, lest the water run out should you queue up late. </p><p>Imagine getting into another long line for food three times a day, and convince yourself to be satisfied with the measly 900 to 1200 calories served up per day, a carefully calculated ration that’s just enough to get a man from one meal to the next, the supply stretched so thin to accommodate the extra mouths to feed. </p><p>A 23-year-old drug dependent, Daniel (not his real name), has been living this life for five days, and says it’s not really the sleeping conditions and the long lines that bother him, but the thought of being away from his family for a long time. </p><p>With nearly 600,000 drug users and pushers voluntarily turning themselves in to authorities in the last two months, drug rehabilitation centers in the country are full to bursting. </p><div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img src="http://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/news-special1/metro/8/25/082516-crowded1.jpg"/><figcaption><div class="embed-desc">Due to overcrowding, a number of drug rehabilitation center occupants are forced to sleep on mats and mattresses on the floor. <em>Pimy Cane, ABS-CBN News</em></div></figcaption></figure></div><p>Daniel was among those who surrendered to his barangay, and is currently admitted at the DOH treatment and rehabilitation center at Camp Bagong Diwa in Taguig. The center is the biggest in the country and has a maximum capacity of 550, but due to the recent influx of patients, its numbers have nearly tripled to 1,546 patients. </p><p>He said with the news of drug personalities being killed every day, he feared for his and his family&#x27;s safety. </p><p>&quot;Ang nasa isip ko, ayaw ko na kada labas ko aligaga ‘yung asawa ko, ‘yung anak ko, ‘yung mama ko. Baka maisip nila na ‘di na ako makakabalik. Na ‘yung katawan ko na lang ang maka-balik na patay na. Mahirap po pero kailangan kong gawin to, lalo na para sa anak ko,&quot; Daniel said. </p><p>According to the Dangerous Drugs Board (DDB), only 9% of those who surrendered need to be admitted into rehabilitation centers. But the number still stands at over 50,000, well over the 5,000 bed capacity of the DOH-accredited rehabilitation centers in the country. </p><p>DDB Chairman Dr. Felipe Rojas admitted that even the ratio of doctors and social workers to patients has gone up. From the ideal 1:50, the doctor patient ratio now stands at 1:150 to 1:250 in some rehabilitation centers. </p><p>To counter this, President Rodrigo Duterte has already set aside P2.8 billion for the construction of four new rehabilitation centers in different areas in the country. </p><p>Negros Oriental Rep. Arnolfo Teves Jr., an admitted former drug user, has proposed to instead put up more outpatient centers so that drug addicts no longer need to be admitted into residential centers. </p><p>&quot;We cannot accommodate the 600,000 now, that’s why we need the outpatient program. To be able to handle such numbers, we need to make the talent pool snowball, graduates (of the rehab program) can later on become councilors and help other addicts. I believe more on an addict helping another addict than a priest or a doctor,&quot; Teves said. </p><p>Meanwhile, the program director at Daniel&#x27;s rehabilitation center said that apart from the long lines, the more serious problem they are facing now is that they are being forced to release recovering addicts after the minimum mandatory treatment period of six months, whether or not they have fully recovered to make room for newcomers. </p><div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img src="http://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/news-special1/metro/8/25/082516-crowded2.jpg"/><figcaption><div class="embed-desc">More than 1,500 patients are being treated at a rehabilitation center in Taguig, which has a bed capacity of 550. <em>Primy Cane, ABS-CBN News</em></div></figcaption></figure></div><p>&quot;Kung tutuusin po, hindi sabay-sabay ang pag-galing ng mga pasyente. May seven o eight months, pero dahil nga dito napipilitan na kami na by six months, pauuwiin na sila, dahil kailangan mag-make room para sa bagong pasyente,&quot; said Mark Anthony Advincula, program director at the rehabilitation center. </p><p>Although it may take years before the new rehabilitation centers will be operational, addicts like Daniel are not complaining about the overcrowding and long queues. For him, the sooner he completes his treatment, the sooner he can get home to his family. <br/> <br/>His message to his wife and daughter for the time being: &quot;Magtiwala sila sa akin na magbabago din ako. ‘Wag silang mawalan ng pag-asa, dahil magbabago din ako.&quot;</p>

<p>With nearly 600,000 drug users and pushers voluntarily turning themselves in to authorities in the last two months, drug rehabilitation centers in the country are full to bursting. </p>

With nearly 600,000 drug users and pushers voluntarily turning themselves in to authorities in the last two months, drug rehabilitation centers in the country are full to bursting.

OVERCROWDED: A look at PH's biggest rehab center

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OVERCROWDED: A look at PH's biggest rehab center

Primy Cane,

ABS-CBN News

Published Aug 26, 2016 01:36 AM PHT

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Updated Aug 26, 2016 01:37 AM PHT

Read More:

war on drugs

rehabilitation center

drug dependent

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