CPDRC inmates sew uniforms, get paid

CEBU, Philippines —  Why outsource?

At the Cebu Provincial Detention and Rehabilitation Center, officials need not hire professional seamstress to sew the uniforms of inmates.

The inmates themselves – at least some of them – are the ones sewing their uniforms, and they are paid for it.

Provincial General Services Officer (PGSO) Bernard Calderon revealed in an interview that selected inmates who are proficient in sewing have been assigned to sew about 2,100 pairs of uniforms. In return, the province will compensate them for their services.

Calderon said though that the system is not really something new as it has been practiced for a long time now.

“Since time immemorial, that has been the practice. They are the ones sewing their uniforms,” he said in Cebuano.

The production work began working on the job order on November 3 when 22 rolls of cloth were delivered to CPDRC. The provincial government also provided the inmates with two zigzag machines and five sewing machines.

New pairs of shoes have also been delivered to CPDRC.

Calderon said that they hope to distribute both the new pairs of uniforms and shoes to the individual inmates before December 15.

It can be recalled that Governor Gwendolyn Garcia ordered the inmates to be given new sets of uniforms and shoes when she visited them in July. She made the directive upon seeing the withered condition of some of the inmates’ uniforms.

Calderon said that the governor has plans on visiting CPDRC again.

Meanwhile, he said he is unsure yet whether the distribution of new uniforms and shoes will be made annually.  JMD (FREEMAN)