The visit of the regional trial court judges at the Quezon City Jail Female Dormitory (QCJFD) will facilitate the resolution of legal issues of the persons deprived of liberty, the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP) said.
Describing it as a ‘significant’ initiative, QCJFM warden Chief Insp. Lourvina Abrazado said that it reflects the commitment of Quezon City Regional Trial Court (QCRTC) Judges Rosanna Fe Romero-Maglaya and Maria Zoraida Zabat-Tuazon in upholding justice, addressing the concerns of the PDL and ensuring due process for all.
She explained that the primary objective of the visit was to assess the status of the PDL cases and provide guidance regarding their legal proceedings.
In the recent activity, the judges directly conferred with the PDLs, answering various queries and clarifying numerous legal processes.
Abrazado added that the visit also allowed the judges to have a glimpse of the jail’s existing programs and services provided to the PDLs, including legal assistance, health and wellness, programs, livelihood training and educational initiatives among others.
Abrazado and the QCJFD personnel thanked the judges for their dedication in ensuring the “fair and swift justice for PDLs.’’
She also stated that five former QCJFD PDLs recently received the Small Income Generating Assistance (SIGA) from the Social Services Development Department (SSDD) under Mayor Joy Belmonte’s No Woman Left Behind program.
In hailing the program, Abrazado explained that the initiative aims to support the reintegration of former PDL into society by providing them with financial aid to start small businesses or livelihood activities.
Through this assistance, beneficiaries can regain economic stability and work towards a self-sufficient future.
Abrazado stressed that the QCJFD continues to collaborate with the city government to ensure that the PDL have access to rehabilitation programs that extend beyond their release, fostering opportunities for a fresh start.
The BJMP has also offered business and entrepreneurship courses to the persons deprived of liberty (PDLs) while in confinement to provide them with better chances of having decent livelihood upon their release from detention.
In an exclusive interview, BJMP-National Capital Region (NCR) head Chief Supt. Clint Russel A. Tangeres explained that the bureau’s “Education Behind Bars’’ program 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 “Education Behind Bars,” 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.
The BJMP-NCR chief pointed out that the business degree educational scholarship program started at the Quezon City Jail Female Dormitory (QCJFD), producing 19 PDL graduates.
In praising the BJMP’s educational program partners, Tangeres said that the Quezon City University and the Polytechnic University of the Philippines teaching personnel were the assigned professors for the PDL enrollees in the Quezon City and Manila jail facilities respectively.