TARLAC CITY—Central Luzon, one of the most progressive regions in the country, has at least 52,000 illegal-drugs users, the latest report from the regional police office disclosed.
The Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) said 531,000 alleged illegal-drug dependents surrendered to the Duterte administration as of August 4, almost 10 percent of whom are based in the region composed of Tarlac, Pampanga, Bulacan, Zambales, Bataan, Nueva Ecija and Aurora.
Tarlac Gov. Susan Yap, who hosted an Anti-Dangerous Drug Summit on Thursday, said more than 6,000 residents surrendered to them as of last week. At least 188 villages of Tarlac’s 511 barangays are affected by illegal drugs.
Pampanga has 11,000 residents involved in the illegal-drug trade. The report on the number of drug users and pushers came from Sr. Supt. Renato Angara, deputy regional police director for operations, who attended the summit at the Tarlac Provincial Capitol.
Interior Secretary Ismael D. Sueño lauded Yap for spearheading the first anti-illegal drugs summit in the country. The woman governor was supported by her brother, former governor and now Second District Rep. Vic Yap.
Emily Padilla, undersecretary of the DILG, said 530,954 alleged drug users (including 32,468 drug pushers) surrendered to the authorities, in line with the relentless drive of the Duterte administration against the illegal-drugs trade. She read the speech of Sueño who was not able to attend the summit.
The DILG and the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency said Duterte is expecting between 3 million and 3.7 million Filipinos hooked on illegal drugs. The country has a population of at least 100 million.
Padilla said Duterte’s double-barrel anti-illegal drugs campaign—a simultaneous attack on big-time drug lords and street-level pushing—also resulted in the following as of August 4: 5,927 arrested; 426, killed; and 241,067, homes visited.
Yap said there should be “no lull” in the rehabilitation of alleged drug users, even as she raised concern over the need to raise huge funds in order to support and sustain the renewed campaign against the illegal vice.
“They may think that’s it after surrendering to us. We should do more programs to ensure their continuous rehabilitation,” said Yap, referring to the 6,000 drug users from Tarlac who surrendered to the local police.
Yap said a reliable drug test costs at least P1,200 per person. The provincial government needs about P10 million to test those who surrendered to them as of last week.
“The drug tests will drain our coffers,” she said. The first-term governor said, “Drug using is considered a disease and we are tapping the government’s health insurance to help us.” She was referring to the state-owned Philippine Health Insurance Corp.
Yap said she is supporting the all-out renewed campaign of the Duterte administration against illegal drugs.
Padilla said Duterte had asked Benjamin E. Diokno of the Department of Budget and Management to look for funds for the immediate construction of four drug rehabilitation centers this year, two of which will rise in Luzon. The Visayas and Mindanao will have one each.
“The President wants to have one drug rehabilitation center in each of the more than 80 provinces. But this will be expensive. President Duterte is planning to have 10 rehabs instead,” she said, who represented Sueno in the summit.
The Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) said Central Luzon posted a 5.3-percent growth rate in 2015. The region’s gross regional domestic product (GRDP) was recorded at P704.28 billion in 2015, approximately P35 billion more than the region’s economic output in 2014 of P668.99 billion, the PSA said.