PUERTO PRINCESA CITY — Jail officials at the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP) Puerto Princesa City District Jail-Female Dormitory are leaning into sports and other recreational programs to help rehabilitate persons deprived of liberty (PDLs) before their eventual release back to the society.
Jail Officer 3 Joefrie Anglo, BJMP Mimaropa information officer, on Sunday said the program covers various indoor and outdoor sports activities to promote jail set-up conducive to a peaceful environment.
"These activities facilitate social interactions and help alter distressing behaviors," Anglo said.
"The program aims to introduce chess as a tool for education and social inclusion in jails. This also dispel the harrowing narratives and ideas about jails as fortified dungeons."
He said they make it a point to make the PDL's stay in jail as "productive and rehabilitative."
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Anglo recalled that in October 2022, four PDLs who are under the custody of the BJMP won the men's second Intercontinental Online Chess Championship for Prisoners.
This historic win put the country on the global map of chess, particularly among the players in places of detention.
Meanwhile, to facilitate smoother reintegration into society, the BJMP-PPCJFD is enhancing its welfare and development programs centered on behavior modification and therapeutic community, which are crucial in addressing the complex needs of female PDLs under its custody.