Robin: Rehab not jail for small time drug users
SEN. Robinhood Padilla reiterated his position calling for the rehabilitation of small-time drug users instead of sending them to jail.
In a press conference on Tuesday, November 29, 2022, Padilla stressed that the rehabilitation of persons caught in possession of small amounts of drugs would help to decongest prison facilities in the country.
Recognizing that drug addiction is a mental health problem, Padilla said doctors should be at the forefront of drug rehabilitation centers and the drug rehabilitation programs should go beyond conducting physical exercises of the patients.
Padilla stressed the importance of having drug rehabilitation and treatment centers in the country in order to rehabilitate drug users and provide them the opportunity to go back to their respective families and become fruitful members of society once again.
Padilla lauded the Department of Health (DOH) for establishing drug rehabilitation and treatment centers, adding that the country should have more of these centers nationwide.
“Because back in the day, when we used to talk about rehabilitation, it just meant exercise, after which we will go back to our dormitory or cells. Now, it is therapeutic — there is a doctor watching and there is family support. This is good. Allow me to express my gratitude. I just say this because we need to explain to the people the difference between a rehabilitation center and a therapeutic center,” Padilla said in Filipino.
“We should treat the drug users as victims in this particular case,” he added.
Dr. Jose Bienvenido Leabres, head of DOH Las Piñas Drug Abuse Treatment and Rehabilitation Center, said the rehabilitation and treatment efforts of the government have been a challenge due to very limited resources.
