PH’s first Muslim community-based drug rehab center

Signing of partnership deal with LGU for a Muslim community-centered drug rehabilitation center

Ayala Foundation is building the country’s first Muslim community-based drug rehabilitation facility in Marawi City, Lanao del Sur, contributing to efforts to bring back drug dependents as productive members of society.

The drug rehabilitation facility – to be called “Siyapen” which is the Maranao word for care – will be done in partnership with the City Government of Marawi and the Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao (ARMM).

The facility will have a 70-bed in-patient facility but it will be able to accommodate drug dependents undergoing out-patient care. It will occupy an existing building owned by the City Government of Marawi.

The facility seeks to provide a space that encourages physical wellness and social integration. Located within the community, the center allows drug dependents to have better access to family and other forms of social support, which are crucial to their recovery. In addition, its proximity to a mosque opens up opportunities for spiritual counseling. The facility also allows for other therapeutic activities such as exercise and group sessions.

“The Siyapen Drug Rehabilitation Center is our way of addressing another challenge Mindanao faces, and of responding to the national government’s call for private sector support in addressing the drug problem,” said Jaime Augusto Zobel de Ayala, chair and chief executive officer of Ayala Corp. and co-chair of Ayala Foundation.

“At Ayala, we have always believed that, whether in Mindanao or elsewhere in our archipelago, fostering inclusive development will always require collaboration between the government and the private sector,” Zobel de Ayala added.

Through Makati Development Corp. (MDC), the construction arm of Ayala Land Inc., Ayala Foundation will oversee the refurbishment of the structure, in keeping with the requirements for an “efficient and humane drug rehabilitation facility.”

MDC will work on the facility from January to April 2017. Once completed, the Siyapen Center will be turned over to the City Government of Marawi for operations.

“We believe that the Siyapen Center will contribute significantly to the treatment and rehabilitation of drug dependents in ARMM, primarily in Marawi City,” said Ruel Maranan, president of Ayala Foundation. “In building Siyapen, we hope to provide a space where person-centered recovery is made first priority, thereby paving the way for meaningful reintegration into society.”

Maranan explained that 10 percent of the capacity of this rehabilitation center would be for in-patients while 90 percent is expected to accommodate outpatient care. As such, this is deemed sufficient to address Marawi’s over 600 estimated drug dependents.

“This ensures best possible outcome for individual healing,” Maranan said. “It will be a venue for regular family interaction,” adding that it would be better for patients since they would not be uprooted from their usual environment. A close coordination with the Imam (Muslim spiritual leader) is also seen part of the community-based treatment program.

Marawi City Mayor Majul Usman Gandamra said the city was intensifying its campaign against illegal drugs, with 200 arrests already made and “still counting” in coordination with the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) and the military.

He said some of the so-called drug personalities who left Manila amid Pres. Duterte’s all-out war against drugs had moved to nearby municipalities. “We are addressing this problem right now,” he said.


Gandamra’s predecessor, Fahad Salic, was earlier tagged by Mr. Duterte as among those involved in the illegal drug trade.