BACOLOD City – This capital city is being considered as the pilot site for the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency’s (PDEA) “Balay Silangan” program in Visayas.
“Balay Silangan” is the national drug reformation program that offers temporary refuge to drug offenders.
Through the program, PDEA aims to transform the drug offenders into “self-sufficient and law-abiding members of society.”
PDEA director Aaron Aquino wrote Mayor Evelio Leonardia a June 5 letter asking the latter to set a meeting with PDEA officials to discuss the possible construction of a Balay Silangan reformation center in Bacolod.
Aquino added that they have chosen the city as one of the pilot sites in the country because of its active support for the government’s “war on drugs.”
Three other Balay Silangan reformation centers were already inaugurated in Cabanatuan City, Nueva Ecija for Luzon, Malungon, Sarangani province for Mindanao, and Caloocan City for the National Capital Region. /PN
