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Manila Bulletin devider Philippines devider Mindanao devider PDL artworks featured in Davao City exhibit

PDL artworks featured in Davao City exhibit

Published Jul 26, 2026 05:28 pm
PHOTO via Ivy Tejano
PHOTO via Ivy Tejano
DAVAO CITY – Artworks created by Persons Deprived of Liberty are featured at the Art for Everyone exhibit at SM Lanang here, reflecting stories of hope, healing, and transformation behind bars.
The exhibit, mounted by SM Lanang and Lawig-Diwa Inc. from July 25 to Aug. 3, features around 600 artworks by 200 emerging artists, students, and underserved creatives from across Mindanao.
Jail Insp. Gerianne D. Salazar and JO1 Dianne Francis F. Llego of the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology-Davao joined Lawig-Diwa at the exhibit opening to support the PDLs and their artworks.
Among the featured artworks from them are ‘’Pakpak ng Pangarap’’ paintings created during a Lawig-Diwa art workshop inside the city jail in October 2025.
Estella Estremera, executive director of the Lawig-Diwa, said each painting depicts a wing filled with the PDL artists' dreams and hopes, symbolizing the wing that carries them through confinement.
The other wing, on the other hand, awaits the day the PDLs from the BJMP-Davao female dormitory regain their freedom and reunite with their families, Estremera said.
They also created Healing Hearts Baby Eagles, plush toys blessed through the Applied Spiritual Technology of Pranic Healing, each with a small backpack containing a prayer book for children.
Estremera said these toys may be purchased for personal use or donated to children with cancer at the Southern Philippines Medical Center Children's Cancer Institute here.
The inmates also produced Tribu Doll Bag Charms, crocheted crafts inspired by five indigenous tribes under the Healing Hearts Bears Livelihood and Healing Project.
Estremera said art has become an important outlet for the women in jail, giving them a safe space to express their thoughts, emotions, and aspirations while coping with life in confinement.
“Art is always a fun exercise, which becomes a venue for them to explore and portray their feelings. It's some sort of a release while they are doing it," Estremera said.
She said the Healing Hearts initiative, held every Monday since April 2022, combines art with Meditation on Twin Hearts and free Pranic Healing sessions for PDLs conducted by volunteer healers.
According to the PDLs, Salazar said, the program has helped improve their physical and emotional well-being, strengthened their spirituality, and fostered better relationships with fellow inmates.
The initiative also provide livelihood projects such as the Healing Hearts Bears, Baby Eagles, and Tribu Doll Bag Charms, allowing PDLs to earn skills while creating products that support charitable causes.
SM Lanang Mall Manager Kimberly Ann Remolona said the exhibit reflects the mall's commitment to supporting local artists while providing a space where more people can appreciate art.
The opening ceremony was attended by Jose Abad Santos, Davao Occidental Mayor Jason Joyce, renowned sculptor Kublai Millan, and visual artists Jeff Bangot and Jimmy Yap.
Organizers said Art for Everyone celebrates Mindanao's diverse traditions and artistic talent while giving emerging and underserved artists a platform to share stories of resilience, healing, and hope.

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