President Duterte said he would send drug addicts to military installations for rehabilitation, as government-run rehabilitation centers throughout the country no longer have room for some 170,000 drug pushers and addicts who voluntarily surrendered to the police during the first one month of the Duterte administration.
In his speech at the oath-taking ceremonies of the League of Cities and Provinces in Malacañang on Wednesday night, Mr. Duterte said he wants the drug addicts to be sent to military installations to start their rehabilitation, “barracks-style.”
He said since the government-run rehabilitation centers are already full, the only open areas left for the thousands of drug addicts who have voluntarily surrendered are in military camps throughout the country.
“It’s the military that has the big reservation. Open up your camps and I will send there something. It will be barracks style. Those recalcitrant or those guys who don’t want to go to jail, let’s just send them there,” he said.
Mr. Duterte added that the use of the military camps as rehabilitation facilities for drug addicts will be temporary and will only be done until the government can build the needed rehabilitation centers.
“But as a stopgap measure, just to come up with something that’s viable, let’s just put them in the camps first. That will scare them,” he said.
The President reiterated that the big-time drug pushers are no longer in the country, as he defended against criticisms that only petty criminals and small-time drug pushers end up getting killed in his campaign against drugs.
According to unofficial death tolls conducted by media groups, the killings of drug pushers, addicts and criminals already reached more than 350 since Mr. Duterte assumed office, or an average of more than 10 killings per day.