A former person deprived of liberty (PDL) was hired at the housekeeping department of a Quezon City hotel, the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP).
In a statement, the BJMP said the employment of former female PDL at the Park Inn by Radisson North EDSA, is part of the agency and the Quezon City government's efforts to reintegrate PDLs in the society.
It said the former PDL of the Quezon City Jail Female Dormitory was among those who completed the 100-day Basic Housekeeping Skills Training last year.
“This program, part of Mayor Joy Belmonte’s No Woman Left Behind initiative, equips PDL with essential skills for a productive and self-sufficient future,’’ the statement read.
For her part, Belmonte emphasized the importance of providing employment opportunities for the former PDLs, ensuring they have a fair chance to rebuild their lives with dignity.
She also expressed heartfelt gratitude to Park Inn by Radisson North EDSA, led by General Manager Ann Olalo for their unwavering commitment to rehabilitation efforts.
“This inspiring success story is a powerful testament to how collaboration, compassion, and opportunity can transform lives, proving that everyone deserves a second chance to start anew,’’ the BJMP continued.
The recent successful transition to the workforce to the unnamed PDL unfolded in the presence of BJMP-National Capital Region Director Chief Supt. Clint Russel Tangeres and Quezon City Female Dormitory (QCJFD) warden Chief Insp. Lourvina Abrazado among others.
BJMP chief Director Ruel Rivera noted that the bureau has initiated programs that ensured the wellness of its supervised PDLs while providing them with greater opportunities to be productive citizens upon their release from detention.
With 446 jail facilities nationwide, BJMP Director Ruel Rivera emphasized the value of education even behind bars, urging the PDLs under their care to enroll and pursue college degrees.
Rivera has included in his priorities the “after-care” program which gives every PDL the opportunity to land decent jobs by coordinating with government agencies to accommodate them “not as a former inmate but as a qualified applicant.”
Tangeres also stated that business and entrepreneurship courses are offered to the PDLs while in confinement to provide them with better chances of having decent livelihood upon their release from detention.
Through the BJMP’s “Education Behind Bars’’ program, Tangeres explained that it offers educational opportunities to the PDLs with the goal of helping them earn their diplomas and develop skills that may come handy when they are reintegrated into society.
With the program, Tangeres stressed that education is a life-turning tool for personal transformation and social change, offering the PDLs the golden chance to lead a righteous and productive path in mainstream society.
Showing compassion to the former PDLs, Tangeres acknowledged that numerous employers detest hiring workers with past criminal records making it extremely difficult for them to turn a new leaf in life.
Further, Tangeres reiterated that the BJMP offered Bachelor of Science (BS) in Entrepreneurship scholarship grants to the PDLs to provide them with business management skills since employers will naturally favor applicants with no criminal records.
Equipped with business degrees and entrepreneurship skills, Tangeres emphasized that the former PDLs need not to work for other employers, scour for employment vacancies, suffer the indignity of rejection or in the worst scenario resort to nefarious ways to earn a living and instead be “their own boss’’ of their personal business ventures.
“Negosyo na right away, kaya hindi na (PDL) mangamuhan. Pag naghanap ng trabaho, background check. Ayoko sayo dati kang ng drugs. Hindi mawawala yun. Normal sa employer na piliin yung walang (criminal) record. Hahanapan (the employers) ka ny NBI (National Bureau of Investigation), police clearance (Engage in business right away, no need for the PDL to be an employee. When applying for work, there is a background check. I will not hire you because you used drugs. That norm stays. It is normal for employers to pick applicants with no criminal record. The employers will require NBI, police clearance),’’ Tangeres noted.
On the human aspect, Tangeres asserted that the ex-PDL employers may show sympathy by hiring or recruiting other qualified job applicants with past criminal records to uplift their sagging spirits and spare them from the dilemma of rejection that may eventually lead them to be productive members of the mainstream society.