MORALES SPARES P100T FOR DRUG REHAB CENTER

MABALACAT Mayor Marino "Boking" Morales Monday donated P100,000 to the
Central Luzon Drug Rehabilitation Center (CLDRC).

Morales announced that the donation given to Chief Supt. Conrado Briton,
CLRDC director, during the regular Monday flag ceremony at the municipal
town hall was raised during the 1st Mayor Marino "Boking" Morales golf
tournament at the Mimosa Golf and Country Club.

Morales said that the fund raising tournament was organized by the
Mabalacat Business Club.

Morales said that the donation is intended to help in the municipality's
anti-illegal drugs campaign now implemented by Supt. Keith Ernald Singian,
Mabalacat police chief, in cooperation with local government officials and
non-government organizations.

Morales said that the CLDRC is in dire need of financial assistance in the
rehabilitation of the rising number of drug dependents going to the center
either voluntarily or as a result of the intensified campaign against drug
abuse in Pampanga and other provinces in Central Luzon.

According to Morales, he received reports that indigent families have shied
away from committing their drug dependent members because they cannot
afford the cost of the treatment at the center.

He said that families suffer and cannot live normally and have no peace of
mind when they have relatives who are engaged in the abuse of illegal drugs.

Morales said that the donation was turned over to Chief Supt. Conrado
Briton, CLDRC director, to complement its meager funds used in the
maintenance of the rehabilitation buildings.

He said that the rehabilitation center is also using up bulk of its funds
to support the feeding and other needs of the patients including their
medications and laboratory tests.

In Angeles City, Chief Supt. Angelito N. Pacia, Angeles City police
director, has reportedly stepped up the campaign against illegal drugs.

In a telephone interview, Sr. Insp. Roland D. Mallari, Angeles City Police
Office (ACPO) Station 2 chief, said that Pacia has instructed all police
chiefs to intensify their activities to curb the illegal drug menace in the
city.

Mallari said that Mayor Carmelo "Tarzan" Lazatin expressed full support to
the "Lambat Droga", a campaign to reduce the illegal drug supply in the city.

Renie "Bong" Mariano, assistant city administrator, said that more programs
will be launched by Lazatin soon to augment the information and education
of schoolchildren about the effects of drug abuse.

He said that Lazatin also urged the civic organizations in Angeles City to
cooperate in the fight against illegal drugs to stop the rise in
criminality in the city.

Lazatin noted that many cases of crimes in the city are attributed by PNP
officials to the drug menace.