Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte on Friday thanked China for helping build a drug rehabilitation center in Manila as the country intensifies its war on drugs.

"China offered to build the rehab. I think they have already started in Fort Magsaysay. They are bringing the materials there already. Only China will help us in our campaign against illegal drugs," Duterte told the Filipino community in Indonesia.

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Presidential spokesperson Ernesto Abella said China started the construction of the rehabilitation center this month at Fort Magsaysay as part of Beijing's pledge to help the Philippines in its fight against illegal drugs.

Gratitude

Duterte said the rehab center in Nueva Ecija is one of the several rehab facilities that China has promised to build in the coming months.

"I would like to thank China for being so generous to us. Thank you so much," Duterte said.

Fort Magsaysay, which sits on 35,000 hectares, is the largest military camp in the Philippines and is one of the training grounds of the Philippine Army.

Abella said the initial phase of the construction started on September 1 after Beijing promised Duterte that it would support Manila's war on drugs including hunting down Chinese drug lords operating from mainland China.

"The initial groundwork (on the rehab center) has begun," Abella told reporters at a press briefing in Manila on Friday.

Military camps

Philippine Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana had earlier ordered the opening of all military camps nationwide for the construction of drug rehab centers for addicts as directed by the president during his first State of the Nation Address (SONA).

Duterte said the government is yet to build a rehabilitation center citing the lack of budget for this purpose. He added that the government is currently operating on a budget that was passed during the last administration which does not cover treatment and rehab of four million drug addicts.

Among the military camps that would house drug rehab centers are the Fort Magsaysay in Nueva Ecija, Camp Macario Peralta in Jamindan, Capiz, Camp Kibaritan in Bukidnon, and Camp Tomas Capinpin in Tanay, Rizal. 

TagsFort Magsaysay, drug rehab centers, President Rodrigo Duterte, President Xi Jinping, Philippines, china