The Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) commended the Balay Silangan reformation facility of the province of Pangasinan situated in Burgos town that will cater to the municipalities and cities that have no reformation centers.

In a phone interview on Thursday, PDEA-Pangasinan Director Retchie Camacho said eight municipalities have signed a memorandum of agreement (MOA) with the provincial government of Pangasinan for the use of the reformation facility, which was inaugurated on Dec. 7.

It is the first provincial reformation facility in the Ilocos Region.

“This will be a huge help to the municipalities that have no Balay Silangan and still drug-affected. They have been waiting for this for so long. Their clients or the street-level pushers will be enrolled at the Balay Silangan as this would pave the way to clear those affected barangays from drugs,” he said.

The municipalities that have signed the MOA are Bani, Burgos, Binalonan, Dasol, Infanta, San Jacinto, San Nicolas, and Sual towns.

Camacho said the facility could accommodate up to 88 clients at a time in its air-conditioned rooms, with security provided by the Pangasinan Police Provincial Office and staff by the provincial government.

Only street-level pushers will be accommodated in the facility and not the high-value targets, he said, adding that they are awaiting the screened list from the Philippine National Police to finalize the first batch of clients.

Camacho explained that for one month, surenderers would have to stay at the Balay Silangan for the in-house program.

Before they graduate from the program, their progress will be monitored outside the center for two consecutive months.

The program includes a month-long mandatory stay at the center to take part in education, health, psychosocial, and physical activities. The remaining two months will be spent on the livelihood or employment education phase.

Balay Silangan is a requirement for every local government unit (LGU) in the country to attain a drug-cleared status.

The other Balay Silangan facilities are operating in San Carlos City and the towns of Sison, Basista, Asingan, Umingan, San Fabian, Balungao, Manaoag, San Quintin, and Alaminos City.

Camacho said 1,157 out of 1,272 drug-affected barangays in the province have been drug-cleared. (PNA)