Palace supports conversion of rehab center into anti-drug enforcement academy

MALACAÑANG HAS expressed support to the proposal of converting the Mega Drug Treatment and Rehabilitation Center inside Fort Magsaysay in Nueva Ecija into an antidrug enforcement academy for various agencies. “We welcome the suggestion of Senator Vicente Sotto III on the mega drug rehabilitation and treatment center,” Presidential Spokesperson Harry L. Roque, Jr. said in a statement yesterday. Mr. Sotto said on Wednesday that the facility, which has barely been used for its purpose, should also be utilized as a learning center for officers of the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency, Bureau of Customs, Philippine National Police, Bureau of Immigration, and the National Bureau of Investigation. Retired military chief Dionisio R. Santiago, who was appointed to lead the Dangerous Drugs Board in July, resigned on Monday after President Rodrigo R. Duterte took offense on his statement that the 10,000-bed rehab center was a mistake and a waste of money. The facility was built in 2016 through funding from Chinese real estate billionaire Huang Rulun. —