THE provinces of Ilocos Norte and South Cotabato plans to replicate Cebu’s rehabilitation program for its inmates who dazzled top officials with one of their dance performances yesterday morning.
Ilocos Norte Gov. Imee Marcos and South Cotabato Gov. Arthur Pingoy Jr. were accompanied by their contingents when they watched the performance of the famed dancing inmates of the Cebu Provincial Detention and Rehabilation Center (CPDRC).
“This is only in Cebu. This (dancing) is one way to ease the rehabilitation of inmates,” Pingoy told Cebu Daily News.
Governor Marcos agreed, saying the inmates are an “inspiration.”
“If it can be done in Cebu, it can be proven that rehabilitation can transform the lives of anyone especially inmates. While we may not have the talent of Cebuanos in dancing, we have to pay attention to our prisoners and dancing is a very useful exercise,” she said.
Marcos admited though that she doesn’t know if the inmates in Ilocos can approximate the skill of dancing inmates of Cebu, whom she said perform “on another level.”
Also on hand to witness the performance were Imee’s mother Rep. Imelda Marcos of Ilocos Norte’s 2nd district, her brother Sen. Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos, Rep. Rudy Farinas of Ilocos Norte’s 1st Dist. , Albay Gov. Rudy Salceda, South Cotabato Vice Gov. Elmo Tolosa and Vice Gov. Angelo Barba.
The inmates performed their standard Michael Jackson reliables like “Thriller” and “Billie Jean”.
Officials mingled with the inmates afterwards and bought shirts and souvenirs at the jail lobby.
A bouquet of flowers made out of recycled materials was given by an inmate to Imelda.
It was former Capitol consultant Byron Garcia, the governor’s brother, who hatched the idea of having inmates perform dance numbers for their recreation and rehabilitation.
From synchronized dance steps, the inmates progressed to pop dance routines.
The inmates’ version of “Thriller” logged 38 million hits in YouTube and caught the attention of Michael Jackson and his choreographer, Travis Payne.
Travis and two dancers flew to Cebu in Jan. 16, 2010 to shoot the dance video for Jackson’s song “They Don’t Care About Us” that was included in a special DVD release of the late King of Pop’s documentary “This Is It.” Correspondent Carmel Loise Matus