My nickname is JPB, and I am 25 years old. I live in Cebu City, Philippines. Today, I would like to share about the jail systems here in Lapu-Lapu City jail.
I have been in this jail for 4 years. Here, I learned good manners and values like respect. Respect is the reason why we live peacefully here. We respect the BJMP officers, Expediter, Coordinators, Peacemakers, and the other inmates. They are the ones who keep the peace here inside. Outside, it is rare to find a person who gives you full respect. Here, wherever you look, we are giving respect, politeness, kindness and love to each other. Sometimes we argue here but we never make it a bigger problem, and fix it instantly. During meal time, the rule is: first come first serve. Our rules are fair, there is no favor. All the things that we have we give care and value. Some people can say that the prisoners are bad but we were brought here to change our lives, not to be more violent.
The Lapu-Lapu City jail is drug free and everyday we have a morning meeting, called Therapeutic Community Modality Program (TCMP). Every person in our dorm has different tasks: affirmation, news casting, trivia, concept of the day and verse of the day, and entertainment. After the morning meeting, we can do activities like sports, livelihood, study and do business. I personally chose to study (LP4Y) from 9:30am to 4:00pm. Afterwards, we need to go back to our building because at 5pm we are not allowed to go outside. We call this schedule “padlock”. At 5:30pm we do a holy rosary and at 6:00pm is the headcount. We also do indoor activities like watching TV or bible studies before headcount every Monday to Friday.
With this, our life will slowly or gradually change. We realize that there are better things than drugs. The life changing activities will not only satisfy ourselves but also our families.