Caloocan City jail produces mechanics, masseurs

Ten Caloocan City jail inmates have completed a vocational course in automotive service, receiving their certificates last week under a local government program.

The male detainees, aged 20 to 49, were the latest graduates of the Caloocan City Manpower Training Center (CCMTC), which conducted the three-month course for the inmates. Twenty of the jail’s 1,200 inmates were selected for the program after they showed interest and their conduct and the gravity of their alleged offenses were assessed, according to CCMTC head Jocelin Baraoidan.

“Many detainees were interested. But the number of participants was limited to 20 for the security of those who will be conducting the training,” she added. Only 10 inmates, however, ended up completing the course as the others were either released or convicted (thus transferred to New Bilibid Prison).

The CCMTC is under the city’s Labor and Industrial Relations Office (LIRO), which also hands out “starter kits” or basic tools for trainees who are released. In September 2014, 20 inmates underwent training as massage therapists while 10 were taught welding in January this year.

This October, LIRO plans to offer courses on refrigeration and air-conditioning system repairs at the city jail, Baraoidan added.–Rima Granali, Veronica Roque