PERSONS deprived of liberty (PDLs) have lighted up streets in some areas in the country with colorful lanterns they created for the upcoming Christmas season.
Community Relations Service chief Jail Chief Inspector Xavier Solda said the local government and local tourism offices of Davao City, Angeles City, Urdaneta City and Compostella Valley tapped the inmates in their area to create the lanterns.
PDLs at the Davao City Jail-Annex have produced a total of 475 handcrafted lanterns, worth nearly P500,000, within a month. These lanterns were installed in the streets of Davao.
In Urdaneta City, inmates from the district jail made lanterns out of recycled plastic bottles.
The lanterns were displayed at the corridors of the Labayug National High School in Sison, Pangasinan.
The local government of Nabunturan, Compostela Valley also ordered 50 pieces of custom-built lanterns beautifully-crafted by Montevista District Jail. They were installed on the streets of Nabunturan.
In Pampanga, the lantern capital of the Philippines, the Angeles City Tourism Office spearheaded a traditional lantern training workshop at the Angeles District Jail to preserve the province's lantern making tradition.
“We are grateful that the local government units and private entities are supporting us in this particular undertaking. We told them that this is not a simple accommodation of PDL products but an extension of hope to people behind bars who (are) also wishing for the Christmas season to be merry,” said Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP) Chief Jail Director Deogracias Tapayan.
“We encouraged them to participate in livelihood and skills enhancement programs not only to ensure that their time with us is productive but also to provide them an economic opportunity while in detention,” he added.
Solda said 65 percent of the total number of PDLs in 474 jail nationwide or 100,452 are engaged in livelihood projects for the upcoming Christmas season.
Among the livelihood programs the PDLs have participated are parol-making, bonsai-décor making, bead works, bamboo crafts and other Christmas decors depending on the design commissioned by different local government units and private entities.
Solda said the BJMP is pushing for the creation of a product not only to support their advocacies in promoting BJMP as an agency and its programs but also to share to the public the stories of reformation in every item they produced.
“Whether it’s a lantern, a bonsai or a décor, what matters is that, we can give a better perspective among the least, the lost and the last in life who are under our care. As jail officers, we hope that each of the items, each skills and each lessons they earned from their participation in our livelihood programs can bridge them to a better future, away from any wrong doings,” he said. (SunStar Philippines)