ILOILO CITY -- Boredom never sets in inside the cramped female dormitory of the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP) - Iloilo City District Jail as they keep themselves busy with various income generating activities.
Chief Inspector Imee S. Lopera, jail warden, on Friday said they were equipped with skills, which they could use to make a living, once they get out of jail.
Majority of the inmates are into beads-making while others are sewers, manicurist, and masseurs.
The beads-making project is introduced by the Micro Ensure Financing. This has taken the interest of the majority of the inmates.
Every week, they order some 35 kilos of beads from Manila to be made into bags, coin purse, ID holders and headbands. Their earnings range from PHP17,000 to PHP35,000 per month.
While their main markets are visitors and schools, their products are regularly displayed at the Tinukib Showroom and during trade fairs in the city.
Some products are also being sold abroad.
Lopera said they are coordinating with the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) for assistance on how to further package their products.
These are sold at a cheaper price, yet their design and craftsmanship are competitive.
Dulce Zamora has been making bead craft for five years. She said that her earning was enough to sustain her needs because no one was visiting her in jail.
At the age of 30, she has been in jail for 10 years for illegal drugs case.
Zamora said she would never put to waste her learning should she be out of the jail; instead pursue it as means to earn a living.
“I will never engage in anything illegal. I will do this for myself. Life here inside is difficult,” she said in the dialect.
In addition to beads-making, 25 of the inmates have passed the assessment of the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) as masseuse.
They were just waiting for their certificates from TESDA, Lopera said.
Leda Layson, 39 years old, was proud that she passed both the practical and written examination given by TESDA.
She said she could at least find work even in a spa because of her skills once she gets out.
She has been in jail for six years due to an illegal drugs case.
For those who love going to salon, the jail also has inmates who are into nail art, waxing and threading.
Forty-seven year old Elena Padrones has been in jail for more than a year.Teary-eyed she relayed that she has been working as a manicurist even before she got imprisoned.
She was thankful that even inside jail, she was able to earn a living; her fellow inmates were her clients.
The money she earned was used for her needs inside the jail while she sent the rest to her children.
She has seven children and the youngest is only two years old.
Lopera said that it would be difficult to form them into a cooperative since they were on trial.
But they are members of the Social Security System (SSS) through the AlkanSSSya program.
She said that some of the released inmates were able to avail of loans from SSS.
The dormitory is situated inside the compound of the Camp Achilles Plagata along General Luna Street of this city.
It caters to more than 200 inmates, 91 percent are facing drug-related cases.
Others are charged with theft, estafa, illegal recruitment and accessory to murder, among others. (PNA)
Photo by Perla Lena
