KALIBO, Aklan (PIA) --  The province of Aklan has now its 16th Balay Silangan, with the recent inauguration and launching of Kalibo’s “Baeay Pagbag-o it Kalibo”/Balay Silangan, A Reformation Center in Barangay Nalook, Kalibo, Aklan.

With its inauguration, only one town in Aklan remains to have no Balay Silangan yet.

The inauguration/launching was led by Mayor Juris Sucro together with officials from the Dangerous Drugs Board through Undersecretary Earl Saavedra, Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) – Aklan Provincial Officer Jose Ramir Batiguas, Aklan PNP officials led by Aklan Police Provincial Office (APPO) Provincial Director Police Col. Crisaleo Tolentino, and other local officials.

Kalibo’s Balay Silangan will be the 63rd reformatory center in Western Visayas, according to PDEA – Aklan Provincial Officer Jose Ramir Batiguas.

Batiguas provided the Project Overview of the Balay Silangan during the program.

Meanwhile, during the latest meeting of the Provincial Advisory Group for Police Transformation and Development (PAG-PTD) here, officials from PDEA-Aklan who were invited to the meeting revealed that the municipality of Batan in Aklan is preparing for the inspection of its Balay Silangan facility already.

Batan is the lone municipality in the province with no Balay Silangan yet, but once its structure is inspected and inaugurated, all of Aklan’s 17 towns will have reformation centers for drug surrenderers.

The Balay Silangan is part of the PDEA’s Harm Reduction efforts, and is a national reformation program that offers temporary refuge to drug offenders and surrenderers with the purpose of making them self-sufficient and law-abiding members of the society. (JBG/VGV/PIA6 Aklan)