BAGUIO CITY – Thirty-eight Persons Deprived of Liberty (PDL) from the male and female dormitories of the Baguio City Jail of the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology graduated Friday, Aug. 26, from elementary and junior high school under the Alternative Learning System (ALS) program of the Department of Education (DepEd) here.

Thirty are from the male dorm and three of them graduated from elementary. There were eight from the female dorm and two of them graduated from elementary.

The 38 PDLs were recognized through a graduation and completion ceremony with the theme "Gradwet ng K-12: Masigasig sa mga Pangarap at Matatag sa Pagsubok.” The event was attended by their family and officials from the DepEd.

‘MANG BASILIO’

One of the 38 PDLs who completed their ALS was “Mang Basilio.”

"It is important to study because the regret is in the end when you are old you will be ashamed to study, then that is the inheritance that others cannot get because you can use it for yourself, it cannot be bought by others, it cannot be dissolved, you will carry it until in old age, when looking for a job, you can," he said.

Mang Basilio said he wants to pursue junior high school so that when he goes out of jail, he will have the credentials to look for a decent job.

He said that being uneducated who cannot read and write and even compute basic mathematics, he was tied as an underground laborer in a private mining firm.

Mang Basilio said that as a young man, he went with the wrong people that made him leave his province and went to this city. As a result, he said he only reached Grade 2.

“I had the chance to study because my mother was a teacher and my sibling was educated but I was led astray.”

He said that he never saw the value of education because at a young age, he was already earning joining underground mining work. Because he did not know how to read, going back to school never appealed to him.

Mang Basilio, however, was glad that four of his eight children have earned a degree while two are completing their education.

He has a daughter who is an engineer, a daughter in the tourism industry, a daughter who is a teacher like her mother, and his only son is a sailor. Two others are still in college while two married early.

Mang Basilio said the ALS opened an opportunity for him to learn to read, write, and even sign.

"I didn't have a hard time because when the night came, when we got home from the cell, I taught those who studied with me,” Mang Basilio said.

With basic knowledge, he said that he will no longer get lost along the way and he can even run for an elective office in his barangay.

‘KARLA’ AND ‘CLARA’

“Karla” and “Clara,” who are among the three female completers, said poverty and going astray in an early age prevented them from finishing even their elementary education.

Karla said, "Maybe God sent me here to give me an opportunity to study and to finish all the trials I will face here." She only reached Grade 5.

Clara said young people should not focus on material things as source of happiness but value education which is very important.

They said the six-month education to complete their ALS was difficult but they are hopeful that with the education and livelihood skills training that the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) conducts in the jail, they will be able to get a job when they get out.

"While you are young, don't waste the opportunity your parents give you to study more. While still young, make sacrifices to be able to study because education is not stolen by anyone," Clara said.

Jail Supt. Mary Ann Tresmanio, warden at the Baguio City Jail male dorm, said ALS is an annual program of the facility in partnership with the DepEd.

She said jail personnel who are education degree holders help in teaching and assisting the learners in preparation for their assessment.

There is also a PDL who is a professor also helping in the program.

She said that for the first time in two years, they prepared for a big event for the graduates that they were unable to do during the pandemic and invited relatives to witness the graduation.

“We want that if they have the chance to be released in jail, they will be able to continue with their education because that will help prevent them from committing the same or another because they can get a job and have a better life.”

Tresmanio said that part of the programs of the jail is to upskill, provide a skill, or provide an education to the inmates to prepare them for a life after jail. “We hope to start with a new batch again soon so that they can complete the six month preparation.”

To date, there are 425 PDLs in the male dorm while there are 92 in the female dorm. Sixty percent of them have cases for violation of Republic Act No. 9165 or the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002.