BJMP features PDL arts, products at SM City Marilao
VARIOUS arts and handmade products crafted by persons deprived of liberty (PDLs) are on display at SM City Marilao’s event center for the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology’s anniversary trade fair.
Facilitated by the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP) region III, the five-day trade fair showcase the arts and products made by PDLs coming from Bulacan, Pampanga, Nueva Ecija, Tarlac, Bataan and Zambales.
“Our yearly celebration is not just about the hard work and sacrifice of our personnel or agency. We also celebrate the persons deprived of liberty detained in all 37 jails in Central Luzon. We celebrate their skills, craftsmanship, and most of all, their transformation,” shared BJMP Regional Director JCSUPT Rebecca B. Pawid.
According to the BJMP National Headquarters Director for Welfare and Development JCSUPT Felixberto S. Jagorin Jr., the purpose of the trade fair is to open an avenue where people can patronize PDL’s creation. “The trade fair here at SM is an avenue for our PDLs to generate income during their confinement in the facility for their personal upkeep and financial support to their families outside,” JCSUPT Jagorin said.
JCSUPT Felixberto S. Jagorin Jr. also added that the trade fair likewise serves as a platform to boost PDLs’ morale while debunking stigma that surrounds jail inmates. “We wanted to showcase their skills to let them know that the situation they are in do not make them less of a person. Each one of them has the capacity to change, grow, and develop and we, at the outside, are their partners” said JCSUPT Jagorin.
Among the products on display are art paintings, native bags with hand-painted designs, twine bags, baskets, bead accessories, coin banks, rugs, handicrafts, home décors, and baked goodies.
Proceeds of the trade fair would be directly given to the PDLs.
Designed to usher smooth transition once inmates are release from jail, the livelihood program for PDLs involves initiatives on development and reformation to prepare the inmates for their eventual reintegration into the mainstream society as productive citizens.
These programs are being undertaken in partnership with the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority as well as Department of Trade and Industry.
The Department of Education through ALS, on the other hand, assists BJMP on the education of PDLs.
