MANILA — A Catholic prelate on Monday said he is willing to help the government in the rehabilitation of drug users.
Caloocan Bishop Pablo Virgilio David said the government’s plan to hire more health workers to address the drug addiction problem is ‘long overdue’.
“(It is) long overdue but never too late if they can admit what we have been insisting on all along— that drug addiction is basically a health issue,” David said in an article posted on the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) news website.
In 2016, the Diocese of Caloocan has opened its parishes as venues for a community-based drug rehabilitation program.
Dubbed as “Kaagapay Ministry, the program has three main components: patient care, family care, and community care.
“We can even help the government cut down the cost if only the anti-drug abuse councils of Local Government Units are willing to partner with our parishes and tap our volunteer mental health workers,” David said.
Earlier, Health Secretary Francisco Duque III said they are looking to hire more psychologists and psychiatrists for rehabilitation centers across the country.
He added that the government is planning to build at least one treatment and rehabilitation center for every region.
David has been calling for a more health-based approach to drug addiction.