Iligan city drug rehab now fully operational

By Nora Soriño,
Iligan City Bureau Chief

Iligan City — This city’s rehabilitation center for drug addicts is now fully operational.

Dr. Ray Sagge, a psychiatrist in the City Health Office here said the Iligan City Drug Abuse and Rehabilitation Center is located at Fatima, Abuno, this city.

At present, there are 30 patients, he added with one ward for the males and another for females.

At present, the city government is funding the rehabilitation center, Sagge said.

He said efforts are being made to get funding from the national government and other sources.

Patients come mostly from the city, Lanao Norte , Lanao Sur, and even from Cagayan de Oro City, the psychiatrist said.

The staff attending to the patients consist of nurses for each ward with one person acting as overall manager for the facility. There are eight persons serving as staff, Sagge added, with guards securing the property fenced with barbed wires.

He did not say how big the facility’s land area is.

Two of the personnel are regulars while the others are casual employees of the city, the doctor said.

The staff, he said, has been trained in dealing with the patients with him providing counselling needs for the inmates. The family of the patient has to pay P5,000 each month, he said.

For those who are voluntarily committed there, the family has to undergo procedures, Sagge said. A court order has to be obtained by the family, he said with the requirements complied with.

At the center, he said, there are program of activities geared towards the reintegration of the inmates to society, the psychiatrist added and generally, the length of the rehab treatment is for six months.

But additional months can also be given, depending upon the evaluation of the concerned  patient if he so needs further stay in the center.