Community Journalism

Prison may have deprived them of liberty, but its steel bars have also become doors to new opportunities.

 

With every dragging minute spent inside the Marikina City Jail, it is easy for the female detainees to feel themselves racking up distance from the lives they have crafted beyond the heavily-guarded walls. However, a source of hope remains in the form of education—offering them not only a sense of normalcy, but also an opportunity that has been elusive to them outside.

 

In 2008, the Department of Education (DepEd) launched the Alternative Learning System (ALS), providing those who do not have access to formal schooling, such as detainees, with a chance to pursue education. Through ALS, inmates may become better equipped with skills that may aid them once they reintegrate with society.

 

Instead of resigning to the feeling that they are wasting their lives away, these female detainees make up for lost time in freedom by pursuing the education they could not afford before.

 

Under the Accreditation and Equivalency (A&E) Program, ALS currently provides elementary and secondary level education, and inmates join classes from the level which they stopped schooling.

 

While some of the Marikina City Jail detainees may have finished their college education, there are many of those who had to drop out as early as grade school. They cite financial problems as among the most prevalent causes.

 

One of these detainees is Maricel, a 50-year-old who has struggled to make ends meet for most of her life.

 

Before landing in prison for selling drugs, Maricel had worked a series of various jobs: as a factory worker, as a house helper, as a caregiver, and as a laundrywoman. Growing up, however, she had a different dream for herself.

 

“Gusto ko talagang maging teacher sana pero 'di na kinaya sa hirap ng buhay. Nagtrabaho agad ako,” she shared.

 

She had to drop out before even finishing high school, ultimately choosing to fill her family’s empty stomachs over her own desire to finish schooling. Now, in the confines of the prison’s walls, she is glad to have finally gotten the chance to continue her education.

 

In the Marikina City Jail, the program lasts for six months, and classes are held three times a week from 1:00 pm to 4:00 pm. However, to instill discipline, the ALS administration drops students with three consecutive absences.

 

Nora, one of Maricel’s closest friends inside the jail, chose to back out from the ALS program after being consumed by self-doubt. Maricel pushed herself to continue despite having her own share of insecurities.

 

To her, education inside the jail also helps her counter the pervading atmosphere of detachment from the world outside.

 

“Malaking bagay samin yung ALS. ‘Di kami tinuturing na iba,” she said.

 

Inmates are given a one-week review period before they take the A&E exam. This exam determines whether they pass the elementary or secondary level, and passers receive certificates during the graduation rites also held inside the jail.

           

“Kahit di ako makapasa, natuto ako kahit konti, natutong magbasa kahit konti,” said another detainee, 40-year-old Kim, who was not able to finish grade school.

 

Besides ALS, inmates are also encouraged to join lectures held by the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) as part of their memorandum of agreement with the BJMP.

 

For supposed reformation purposes, inmates who have been detained for under a year are the only ones required to attend lectures. The Chief of Inmate Welfare and Development picks the programs for them to undergo.

 

“Kung sino interesado, sumasali. Kusang-loob talaga silang sumasali,” said SJO3 Gilbert Santos, Associate Director of the Marikina City Jail Female Ward.

 

TESDA officials hold lectures in the jail for a week from 9:00 am to 12:00 nn. Lectures include massage therapy, beauty care, nail care, wiring, and appliance and automotive servicing.  After fulfilling the week-long lecture and workshop, inmates are likewise given certificates which can aid them in seeking jobs post-detention.

 

Kim, who has taken TESDA courses such as wiring and nail care, grabbed these opportunities, filled with the resolve to start straightening her life out once she gets released. For her, the educational programs provided by the jail – opportunities she was not able to enjoy growing up – have made her better equipped for life outside.

 

“Pagkalaya ko, aasikasuhin ko na pamilya ko. Hinding-hindi na ako magbibisyo," she said.

 

These programs aimed at transformation through education emphasizes the role of prison not as an avenue for punishment, but as a means to help inmates get their lives back on track. With most of them kept in the dark, unaware of when they will finally get to taste freedom again, these educational programs have proved to be a source of hope — their lighthouse in the dismal, guarded walls of the facility.

 

Education has also allowed them a firmer grasp on the possibility of better futures. And now, armed with this powerful tool, they look forward to the life outside their cell walls with renewed fervor and hope.

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