ALL jail facilities under the supervision of the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP) will soon have its own library as part of the rehabilitation program on persons deprived of liberty (PDLs).

The BJMP in partnership with the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) launched yesterday morning the “Read Your Way Out: Advancing Prison Reform through Libraries for Lifelong Learning in Places of Detention” program to give PDLs time to read and learn personal development, well-being and ultimately rehabilitation.

According to DILG Undersecretary for Public Safety Serafin Barretto Jr., instead of doing nothing in their cells, every jailbird will be encouraged to make their vacant time productive by reading books and at the same time get some points for their Good Conduct Time Allowance (GCTA).

Barretto said that the more GCTA points they acquire, the more time they get that will be deducted from their prison terms. Time allowances reduce time in sentences and facilitate decongestion, through early release coupled with rehabilitation grounded in improved education and vocational skills.

AUTHOR PROFILE

Joel dela Torre