Albuera: Albuera, Leyte Mayor Kerwin Espinosa demonstrated his commitment to making his hometown drug-free through the recent opening of the Balay Silangan Reformation Center in the municipality.
According to Philippines News Agency, the center, inaugurated on March 3, is designed to provide a holistic approach to the rehabilitation of drug surrenderers. Beyond substance dependency, the facility provides life skills, vocational training, psychological support, and community reintegration.
'This will help rehabilitate individuals involved in illegal drugs, including dependents and pushers, by providing them with livelihood and technical-vocational training. Our goal is to make Albuera a drug-free municipality,' Espinosa, who was a self-confessed drug lord, said.
Espinosa, along with other local officials, led the inauguration and signing of a memorandum of agreement for the project in partnership with the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency, the Department of the Interior and Local Government, and the Philippine National Police.
The reformation center will coordinate with local government units, agencies like the Department of Education and the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority, and community stakeholders to ensure accessible, comprehensive rehabilitation services for residents.
Albuera is the sixth municipality in Leyte to establish a Balay Silangan Reformation Center and the 36th in Eastern Visayas.
The center has eight beds, but the local government said capacity may expand if needed.
Espinosa, who was elected mayor last year, earlier vowed to rid Albuera of illegal drugs.
He urged suspected drug traders and users to surrender, seek rehabilitation, or leave the town.
In 2016, then-President Rodrigo Duterte publicly accused Espinosa and his father, former Albuera mayor Roland Espinosa, of involvement in the drug trade after authorities reportedly recovered PHP11 million worth of shabu near their family home in Albuera.
The elder Espinosa surrendered to authorities in mid-2016 amid drug charges but was later shot dead inside his jail cell in Baybay City.
Kerwin Espinosa was released from detention in 2023 after a Regional Trial Court in Baybay City dismissed the drug-related charges against him due to insufficient evidence.
