The Philippine Army (PA) is preparing the mega drug rehabilitation center located inside a military base in Palayan, Nueva Ecija as a quarantine site for individuals being monitored for 2019 coronavirus disease (COVID-19).
Lieutenant General Gilbert Gapay, Army commanding general, said the Mega Drug Abuse Treatment and Rehabilitation Center (Mega DATRC) at Fort Magsaysay is ready to serve as a quarantine facility for individuals suspected to have been infected by COVID-19.
“So far dito sa Luzon, ang largest containment is in Fort Magsaysay that’s a drug rehab center na may 10,000 capacity. Isa ito sa naka-prepare in case this gets worse,” Gapay said.
The mega drug rehabilitation center was constructed in a 75,000-hectare land at Fort Magsaysay, the largest military reservation in the Philippines, in November 2016.
The facility was divided into four phases, with each phase able to accommodate 2,500 persons.
The funds for the construction of the facility came from a Chinese billionaire and philantropist who offered to help President Duterte deal with the illegal drug problem at the time.
The construction of the facility, however, drew flak as critics thought it was not fully utilized since only about a hundred drug dependents have reportedly admitted into the center — far from the expected number of admissions which were initially placed at thousands. (Martin Sadongdong)
