Delivering on an earlier commitment to support the government’s campaign against drugs, San Miguel Corp., through its social development arm The San Miguel Foundation, has signed an agreement to build a drug rehabilitation facility in the province of Bataan.
The facility is the first of several that San Miguel is looking to build under a P1-billion donation it pledged to the government last August.
Cabinet Secretary Leoncio Evasco Jr., Local Government Secretary Ismael Sueno, Health Secretary Paulyn Jean Rosell-Ubial, Bataan Gov. Albert Garcia, SMC president and chief operating officer Ramon S. Ang, and non-profit Pilipinong May Puso Foundation Inc. chairman Rowena Kristina Amara Velasco signed the agreement.
“We’re fully supportive of our government’s anti-drug dependency efforts,” said Ang. “We want to be able to do our part in helping drug dependents reform—especially the youth. With the right guidance, we’re hopeful they can reenter society with positivity and become productive individuals.”
“This is why we are putting a lot of energy and thought into this program. More than just a physical structure, we want this facility to have significant meaning to many families who have been affected by illegal drugs. We hope it will provide former drug users the means to truly change their lives for the better, for good,” the SMC chief added.
Under the agreement, SMC will fund and construct the rehab center on land identified and provided by the Bataan provincial government.
The Department of Health, which will run and maintain the facility, will provide specifications for the facility in consultation with the Department of the Interior and Local Government and the Office of the President.
PMPF will develop and provide sustainable livelihood programs and capability-building activities for recovering drug dependents. The foundation will also provide skills training at the facility, including modules on entrepreneurship, handicrafts, basic computer and information technology skills, horticulture and animal raising, among others.