THE country’s first-ever drug rehabilitation center is being constructed within the 45,837-square hectare Fort Magsaysay in Nueva Ecija province, Army spokesperson Col. Benjamin Hao said Tuesday.
Hao said the 10-hectare project is led by the Department of Health while the Army Real Estate Office is providing zoning support.
President Rodrigo Duterte earlier announced he is eyeing the use of vacant lands in military camps as locations for the government’s drug rehabilitation centers.
“The 7th Infantry Division [based in Fort Magsaysay] provided the area for the proposed drug rehabilitation center. At the moment, we are securing the location, it is around 10 hectares. Construction started last August 28,” Hao said in Filipino.
He added the contractors are based in Quezon City.
The drug rehabilitation center will be separate from the military units based in Fort Magsaysay, which include the Special Operations Command and the Army Artillery Regiment.
Two other military bases, Camp Macario Peralta in Jamindan, Capiz and Camp Tecson in San Miguel, Bulacan, are also being eyed for drug rehab centers.
Workers in the construction site are vetted and given IDs for security purposes, the Army spokesman said.