BJMP eyes facility for former convicts, sentenced inmates

CEBU - The Bureau of Jail Management and Penology eyes the construction of a separate rehabilitation center that would house sentenced prisoners and serve as a refuge to former inmates upon their release from jail.

BJMP chaplain John Buban said the center would be a way to decongest the city jail wherein at least 20 percent of the total number of inmates is composed of sentenced prisoners or those whose cases have been given ruling by the court. 

Meanwhile, Buban said the center would also cater to former inmates who experience the so-called “Prisoner Syndrome” or the non-acceptance by society of ex-convicts upon their release from jail.

More often than not, this syndrome is what deprives former inmates the chance to regain a normal life, he said.   

To address this concern, a separate rehabilitation center is now being eyed at a lot in barangay Lahug donated by a private individual to BJMP.

The property is reportedly very suitable for the rehabilitation center because it is located in an area where the sentenced inmates and former inmates can engage in farming, thus, earn some money.

Buban said the center would also benefit the society at large because “if a person is guided, he will not become a problem to the society anymore.”

“We want them to be productive even if they are inside,” Buban said.

Should the project materialize, it will be the first of its kind in the Philippines.

“We can be like Jesus. We don’t do good deeds for popularity; we do it because that’s what God wants us to do. Even if others may not see, in the eyes of the Lord, we become holy when we do good things,” Buban said. – Jessica Ann Pareja/JMO (THE FREEMAN)