Capitol opens staff applications for Pinamungajan rehab facility

CEBU, Philippines — As Cebu Governor Pamela Baricuatro’s administration moves to fully operationalize the New Life Cebu Drug Rehabilitation Center in Pinamungajan this year, the provincial government is now building up the facility’s professional workforce.

The Capitol-run facility is currently accepting applicants for four positions as the provincial government works to meet the technical and operational requirements needed before the center can begin accepting clients.

The positions include a part-time Medical Specialist II/Psychiatrist, a part-time licensed psychologist, a Licensed Nutritionist-Dietitian II, and a Licensed Social Welfare Officer I.

The nutritionist-dietitian and social welfare officer positions are job order posts with Salary Grades 14 and 11, respectively. The positions will be based at the rehabilitation center within the Dr. Jose Ma. V. Borromeo Memorial Hospital compound in Barangay Pandacan, Pinamungajan.

Provincial Public Health Consultant Dr. Nikki Catalan said the hiring is part of the ongoing preparations, noting that a rehabilitation facility has highly technical staffing requirements.

“So ang Pinamungajan, ongoing pa atong hiring tanang operations. Technical man gud kaayo ang requirements for a rehab facility,” Catalan said.

The province also recently conducted a benchmarking visit at the Department of Health Treatment and Rehabilitation Center in Argao to learn from the facility’s operations and requirements.

Catalan said the visit was intended to help the province prepare for the eventual operation of the Pinamungajan center, including its staffing and other operational needs.

“Last Thursday, we did a benchmarking sa Argao nga ERC,” she said.

The benchmarking formed part of the province’s preparations as it works to establish the systems and procedures needed to run the new facility.

Catalan said the province is targeting to open the rehabilitation center by the end of the year, although several requirements still have to be completed before operations can begin.

“Ideally, ma-open ang rehab center by end of the year,” Catalan said.

Aside from hiring, the facility is still undergoing repairs and its prospective personnel will have to undergo training as part of the preparations for its operation.

The DOH also has requirements that the province must meet before the facility can proceed with its operations. Catalan said these requirements are being addressed as the province prepares for the department’s visit.

“Naa say requirements ang DOH pag-visit nila so mao mana ang gipang-comply,” she said.

The facility was originally donated by Globe and launched in 2019 for drug rehabilitation, but it remained unused for nearly seven years due to operational and logistical constraints, including damage caused by disasters that required repairs.

The provincial government earlier moved to activate the facility under the Provincial Health Office as an institution-based treatment center, with the goal of expanding access to rehabilitation services and strengthening medical supervision.

The center was initially designed to accommodate 50 beds.

However, the province has decided to start with a 25-bed capacity to make staffing and overall management more manageable.

“From 50-bed capacity, gihimo lang sa namong 25-bed capacity para manageable especially in hiring, pag-man sa tao, ang requirement pud niya,” Catalan said.

The center is expected to initially cater to male clients, with the provincial government earlier citing security and operational considerations in starting with a single-client group.

The Pinamungajan facility is intended to augment existing government-run rehabilitation services in Cebu, including the DOH-operated treatment centers in Jagobiao, Mandaue City and Argao.

The province has said the activation of the facility is expected to help address the demand for rehabilitation services and ease pressure on existing treatment centers.

For 2026, the rehabilitation center remains under the Provincial General Office’s budget.

Catalan said the province plans to establish a separate budget line for the facility beginning next year.

“For this year under pa ni siya sa PGO na budget but for next year eapil najud siya og separate na budget line,” she said. — (FREEMAN)