LEGAZPI CITY – The Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency in Bicol (PDEA-5) on Monday said more former drug users and peddlers in Albay could have transformed lives with an additional Balay Silangan Reformation Center in the province.
In a phone interview, Carlo Fernandez III, PDEA-Bicol information officer, said the reformation center in Pio Duran, Albay, is the 13th operational reformation center in the province.
"The Balay Silangan Reformation Center in Pio Duran, Albay, can accommodate three to six clients who will undergo a rehabilitation program. This facility provides a place for drug reformists to get their second chance and make their lives better," he said.
Fernandez said that in the facility, the clients would be given skills training that they could use after more than four to six months of stay depending on their progress.
"So that when they leave Balay Silangan, they already know, such as from the training provided by the Technical Education Skills Development Authority and other stakeholders like the Department of Health," he said in Filipino.
Fernandez said PDEA-Bicol continuously urges all local government units (LGUs) in the region to open a Balay Silangan as part of the requirements to be declared drug-cleared.
"For Albay, we still have five LGUs that we are waiting to have a Balay Silangan," he added. (PNA)
