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Philiippines' Duterte hails China for helping war on illicit drugs

Xinhua, October 11, 2016 Adjust font size:

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte hailed China on Tuesday for helping his administration's war on illicit drugs by offering to build a rehabilitation center that can house 1,600 drug dependents.

"China offered to help. It's about to be completed," Duterte announced during an oath-taking ceremony at the Malacanang presidential palace.

He said the new facility, which he describes as "an apartment-style, similar to a condominium," is being build inside a Philippine Army camp in Nueva Ecija, north of Manila.

He said the building is a secured rehabilitation facility that is hoped to decongest the overly crowded police jails in the country.

The facility sits inside the camp called Fort Ramon Magsaysay, the largest military reservation in the Philippines and one of the key training areas of the Philippine Army.

Duterte is waging a war against "narco-politics" in the Philippines, saying about 4 million Filipinos are into illegal drugs. He has reiterated that the Philippines lacks the budget to build rehabilitation centers for drug dependents. Endit