NBP convicts dance, clap for Aquino, guests

JAILBREAK FOR R&R. Two thousand inmates at the national penitentiary sing and dance for President Aquino who’s watching their performance from a second floor deck. His presence is a sign of approval for the launch on Friday of the Bureau of Corrections 2022 Road Map, a plan to turn the maximum security compound into a place for R&R (reform and rehabilitation). EDWIN BACASMAS

One look at these inmates and you may think perhaps the joke is true: prison is more fun in the Philippines.

Some 2,000 maximum security inmates of the New Bilibid Prisons (NBP) waved, clapped and moved to the beat as they welcomed President Benigno Aquino III, foreign dignitaries and other local officials within the prison walls in mid-afternoon heat on Friday.

Mr. Aquino visited NBP in Muntinlupa City Friday afternoon as corrections officials launched a long-term strategic plan aiming to turn the facility into a true place for reform and rehabilitation of convicted criminals.

For a while, the thought of serving time—20 years to life—seemed worlds away from the orange-clad crowd as they made sure they kept to the rhythm.  Looking from a second-floor view deck, the President showed his appreciation with a smile.

In a seeming reprise of a stunt that made Cebu inmates popular back in 2007, house band “Maximum,” backed up by a group of 15 dancer-prisoners, performed a medley of upbeat standards including “MoreToday Than Yesterday” and “Can’t Take My Eyes Off You.”

The group capped its performance with “Tie A Yellow Ribbon,” in an apparent nod to the President’s political color.