To decongest jail cells, intensify drug rehabilitation in jail facilities and help drug victims build a new life away from illegal drugs, the Mandaue City Government and Mandaue City Substance Abuse Prevention Office (MCSAPO) have launched a first-ever Jail-Based Rehabilitation Program and plan to institutionalize it across all courts.
The program started in February this year with the Mandaue City Anti-Drug Abuse Council’s (MCADAC) goal being to help the Mandaue Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP) maximize recovery for drug detainees, lawyer Ebenezer Manzano, MCSAPO head and MCADAC action officer, said Friday, Oct. 6, 2023.
Manzano said the Jail-Based Rehabilitation is under the Katatagan, Kalusugan at Damayan ng Komunidad (KKDK), a psycho-educational drug rehabilitation program that consists of 24 modules: 18 modules with fellow persons deprived of liberty (PDL) and six with family members.
The rehab program runs for six months, with two sessions per week, and generally functions as a counseling system teaching PDLs about self-development and self-reflection to have a coping mechanism to avoid drug activities and recovery from addiction.
BJMP-Mandaue hosts 1,563 male and 125 female inmates.
BJMP-Mandaue records show that as of Oct. 6, some 588 of the 1,563 male inmates, or 38 percent, were convicted of illegal drugs, while for female inmates, it was 109 out of 127, or 86 percent.
Manzano said they are now coordinating with the Supreme Court and plan to submit a request letter for the KKDK to be credited across all courts, emphasizing it would maximize rehabilitation within the jail so PDLs would not have to undergo another rehabilitation to expedite their release.
“It also benefits the PDLs since the courts can treat their rehabilitation program in jail as part of their sentence, thereby reducing rehab time outside of jail. Some may even proceed to aftercare after their release from jail,” Manzano explained.
“This is also one way to decongest our jail cells, although we can see we know we have a bigger capacity with our new jail facility. But this is just to kickstart our program,” he added.
On Friday, 63 of 150 first-batch male PDL graduates attended a moving-up ceremony at the new Mandaue-BJMP facility in Sitio Dungguan, Barangay Basak.
The activity was attended by some officials of the Mandaue City Government, Mandaue City Substance Abuse Prevention Office, and Mandaue City Police Office, among other law enforcement agencies.
All graduates of the Jail-Based Rehabilitation receive a Certificate of Program Completion, which they could use as a referral to apply to any jobs outside prison.
BJMP-Mandaue Jail Superintendent Jonathan Baltar said graduates are released from prison after the program. But those convicted for violations under Sections 5 and 11 of Republic Act (RA) 9165 or the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002 may undergo counseling and another rehabilitation, whose duration depends on the court under the jurisdiction’s discretion before release.
Freed from prison last Sept. 22, Edward Monroid did not hesitate to return to the Mandaue-BJMP facility for his graduation, stressing the program had changed his life and made him realize his wrongdoings.
Monroid was arrested for using illegal drugs on Nov. 24, 2022. Now that he has a new life ahead of him, Monroid wants to return as a taxi driver.
“Diri ko nakat-un mag ampo. Kun wala ko diri, wako ka amgo, so mibalik gyud ko,” said Monroid.
(It was here that I learned to pray. If I wasn’t here, I wouldn’t have realized my ill-doing, so I came back for my graduation).
The new BJMP facility was initiated to resolve the congestion of inmates inside prison cells in the old jail building in Barangay Looc. The inmates began moving to the new facility this year.
The Mandaue City College intends to use the area vacated by the BJMP-Mandaue in Looc for new classrooms to accommodate its enrollees.