BJMP eyes jail libraries as it integrates reading in rehab program for PDLs

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MANILA Philippines — The Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP) on Tuesday launched a project that would establish jail libraries, as it plans to include reading in the rehabilitation program for persons deprived of liberty (PDLs).

In a statement, the BJMP said “Read Your Way Out: Advancing Prison Reform through Libraries for Lifelong Learning in Places of Detention” is an undertaking with the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC).

The project’s goal is to provide learning opportunities for personal development, well-being, and, ultimately, rehabilitation of PDLs, it noted.

“In addition, it aims to incorporate reading activities as one of the options for PDL to earn time allowance for study, teaching, and mentoring,” it also said.

“Time allowances reduce time in sentences and facilitate decongestion through early release coupled with rehabilitation grounded in improved education and vocational skills,” it added.

READ: In Bolivia, inmates can cut jail time by reading

The BJMP said libraries will be built in 13 jails and will contain legal (20%) and vocational resources (30%), as well as fiction and non-fiction (40%), and children’s books (10%) for family visitors.

A technical working group composed of officials from the BJMP, UNODC, and the National Library of the Philippines has been created to help implement the project. —Vance Chan, trainee

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