Short answer. Yes. RA 9165 directs the DILG, the National Youth Commission, and the DSWD to set up a Special Drug Education Center in every provincial office specifically for out-of-school youth and street children. The Center runs drug prevention programs, activities, and information campaigns, and its programs must also be adopted by orphanages and existing centers for street children.
What the law says
the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG), the National Youth Commission (NYC), and the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) shall establish in each of its provincial office a special education drug center for out-of-school youth and street children.
RA 9165, Section 46 — Special Drug Education Center. Read the full provision →
What the law says
shall sponsor drug prevention programs and activities and information campaigns with the end in view of educating the out-of-school youth and street children regarding the pernicious effects of drug abuse.
RA 9165, Section 46 — Special Drug Education Center. Read the full provision →
What the Center does
Section 46 of the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act requires a dedicated drug education center in every provincial office, built specifically around out-of-school youth and street children rather than students already inside the formal school system. The Center is tasked with running drug prevention programs, activities, and information campaigns aimed at explaining the harmful effects of drug abuse to a population that ordinary school-based drug education, covered elsewhere in the law, does not reach.
Who is behind it
The provision names three government bodies as responsible, working with the Dangerous Drugs Board: the Department of the Interior and Local Government, the National Youth Commission, and the Department of Social Welfare and Development. Local implementation is expected at the provincial level, with a social welfare officer overseeing the Center's programs, which keeps the effort tied to existing provincial social services rather than a separate standalone agency.
Where the programs extend to
The law does not stop at the provincial Center itself. It also requires that the same drug prevention programs be adopted in public and private orphanages and in other existing centers that already serve street children. This extension matters because it means an orphanage or a private child-welfare facility is expected to carry the same drug education content the provincial Center develops, rather than each institution designing its own approach independently.
Why this provision matters
Out-of-school youth and street children are often outside the reach of curriculum-based drug education because they are not enrolled in a school system that requires it. Section 46 recognizes that gap and creates a parallel channel of drug prevention specifically for them. For families, social workers, or organizations working with vulnerable youth, this section is the statutory basis for expecting the government to fund and run programs reaching this population directly, rather than only through schools.
What this provision does not do
Section 46 is an administrative and program-creation provision. It does not define a crime or set a penalty, and it does not give an individual a personal claim against the government if a particular province has not yet set up its Center. Its role in RA 9165 is to build the institutional infrastructure for drug prevention among a specific vulnerable group, distinct from the Act's separate provisions on prohibited acts and their penalties.
Related provisions
- RA 9165, Section 46 — Special Drug Education Center
- RA 9165, Section 45 — Publishing Drug Information Materials
- RA 9165, Section 47 — Drug-Free Workplace Policy