Christmas spirit alive in ‘Munti’

It’s not a lonely Christmas for inmates after all.

Married convicts at the National Bilibid Prisons (NBP) began spending the merriest time of the year with their wives on Christmas Eve after prison officials approved conjugal visits for them.

Bureau of Corrections Director Vicente Vinarao said it will indeed be a "Merry Christmas" for the inmates as their wives can even spend Christmas Day with them until 5 p.m.

"This is just one of the gifts extended to detainees as part of the annual Christmas treat we organize for them. Apart from the conjugal visits, there is also a special meal prepared for them," Vinarao said.

Some 1,500 inmates feasted on favorite Filipino delicacies like lechon and chicken-pork adobo, fish and ham, complete with fruit salad.

They also received P500 cash each as a Christmas gift.

Staff from Samsung Philippines also came to distribute packed meals to the prisoners.

As for the loved ones of inmates detained in the provinces, Vinarao said they have placed a "call station" inside the NBP compound for them to use via cell phones.

"We have also arranged for some relatives of inmates in penal colonies in faraway provinces to be able to connect with their loved ones through telephone calls," he said.

"In that sense, they will still be able to feel the spirit of Christmas, even if they’ve been serving their sentences inside," Vinarao explained.

The calls are free of charge to relatives of prisoners in the penal colonies of Zamboanga, Leyte and Mindoro.

Vinarao said he recently issued a directive to the more than 50 security personnel of the NBP to cancel all their leaves for security measures as the compound was bustling with activity yesterday.

He added that Christmas celebrations or parties were simultaneously held yesterday in prisons and detention centers nationwide.

"We make it a point to come up with this yearly activity so that the air of Christmas is extended even inside prison cells. This is our way of sharing the little joys of life to thousands of inmates housed at the NBP," Vinarao said.