Over 600 PDLs released from Zamboanga City Jail —warden

Over 600 persons deprived of liberty (PDLs) from the Zamboanga City Jail have been released under its paralegal service program, a jail warden said on Tuesday.

In a televised public briefing, Jail Superintendent Xavier Solda said there are currently 2,062 PDLs inside the facility.

“Sa kasalukuyan, medyo congested kami pero alam mo simula nung nagsimula tayo dito sa Zamboanga City Jail nung Enero, mahigit 600 na po ng mga PDL ang natulungan natin mapalaya,” Solda said.

(Right now, we are somewhat still congested, but you know that since we started in the Zamboanga City Jail in January, we have released over 600 PDLs.)

Meanwhile, Solda said 60 of their PDLs have graduated from elementary school while some others graduated from high school.

“’Yun hong mga PDL natin na hindi man lang ho marunong magsulat at bumasa, nakatapos na po sila ng elementary at patuloy ho natin sinusuporrtahan at tinutulungan dito ho sa programang pang-edukasyon,” he said.

(PDLs who initially did not know how to read and write have finished elementary school and we will continue to support them through this education program.)

“Meron na rin ho nakatapos sa facility natin ng kanilang high school and we are looking forward na magsimula na rin in the nearest future ng college education behind bars,” he added.

(Some also finished high school education and we are looking forward to starting college education behind bars in the nearest future.)

Solda said they also conducted a skills mapping excercise for PDLs.

According to him, the PDLs are also aware that they will have difficulty being hired due to stigma that comes with ex-convincts.

“Yung mga dating nakulong medyo may challenge ho tayo sa pag-apply ng trabaho. Kaya nga ho ang mga binibigay nating programa sa kanila ay yun hong magagamit nila kaagad,” he said.

(There is a challenge when applying for jobs for those who were detained. That’s why we gave them programs that they can immediately use.)

“Kagaya ng training pagdating sa agrikultura and ‘yung mga employable skills na kakailanganin dito ho sa immediate community sa siyudad ng Zamboanga,” he added.

(This includes our training in agriculture and other employable skills that are needed here in Zamboanga.) —KBK, GMA Integrated News