LIM OFFERS FREE REHAB TO DRUG USERS IN MANILA

MANILA, Philippines -- Drug dependents from Manila's slums can get a
new lease on life with the opening of a rehabilitation center in Sta.
Cruz today.

Mayor Alfredo Lim will inaugurate the new Manila Treatment and
Rehabilitation Center inside the North Cemetery complex at the corner
of Dimasalang Extension and Blumentritt Street.

The center will provide free treatment to drug users. Private
rehabilitation facilities, on the other hand, charge as much as
P40,000 to P50,000 per patient.

According to Lim, drug addicts are victims who need to be
rehabilitated to allow them to return to the mainstream of society.

"We will run after the drug pushers and dealers but not the users
because they are only victims who need help," he stressed.

City administrator Jesus Mari Marzan said that Lim had opened a drug
rehab center during his term but this was shut down by his successor
who converted the facility into an activity center.

The old drug rehab center, he added, had cured thousands of residents
and even nonresidents who were addicted to illegal drugs, all free of
charge.

The new center will accommodate only male patients for
now.

Dr. Enrique Samonte will head the all-male team of nurses and
specialists who will provide comprehensive rehabilitation services
using multidisciplinary techniques.

The center aims to make its patients drug-free to enable them to
rejoin their community and engage in productive activities.

City health officer Marie Lorraine M. Sanchez said the center is part
of the city government's campaign against illegal drugs.

"The mayor's crusade is multifaceted -- from law enforcement, judicial
prosecution to treatment and rehabilitation of victims of drug abuse,
for which the Manila Treatment and Rehabilitation Center is being
established," she said.