DAVAO CITY – Bags, coin purse, and coin banks are just three of the best-selling items displayed by the inmates at the “Tiyangge sa Piitan”, which the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP) XI opened to help inmates save for Christmas celebration with their families and the inmates and for their everyday basic needs.
Jaime, a 26-year-old inmate from Mintal, Davao City, said the coin banks are most saleable. “Our number one product is the coin bank which is also being sold inside malls.
It is also saleable,” Jaime said in vernacular.
Jaime and other inmates underwent training in making coin banks for livelihood inside the jail.
“It also used as a souvenir item whenever you come inside the jail,” he added. Jaime was a make-up artist of some local news personalities before he was arrested for drugs in 2014.
He said that most of the proceeds are intended for the livelihood program of the inmates.
The City Jail’s “Tiyangge sa Piitan” is one way of helping the inmates earn money during the holidays. The items are made by the inmates, themselves.
“We are very thankful as the BJMP is conducting a Christmas bazaar because through this the public will be informed that we are making that kind of product.
Even though we are behind bars we are selling and offering products that they often see outside,” he further said.
Like most of the inmates, Jaime’s Christmas wish is for his family to visit him during Christmas.
“Gina visit ko sa akong family pero lahi lang gyud mag pasko nga kauban imong pamilya (My family visits but it is different when you are together with family during Christmas,” Jaime stressed.
Like Jaime, 41-year-old Dahlia wished she will be finally free and be with her family.
“Wish namo na makalaya na tapos makauban ang among pamilya hilabi kay luoy kayo among anak kay duha mi nakulong (Our wish is to be released to be together with our family especially for our child because two of us (husband) are detained),” she said.
“Sana makalaya nami ug ma-approbahan na akong gi file na demurral or dismissal (I hope we will be released and the pleading for demurral or dismissal will be approved.” Dahlia said.
Dahlia was imprisoned since 2010 for a drug case.
She, too, was thankful to the BJMP for opening the Christmas bazaar because it helps them earn money while in jail to support their families.
“Ang kita namo ani kay para sa among mga anak ug pag konsumo namo dri sa sulod ug kung nay sobra makabayad sad mi sa among ginahiram namo sa livelihood. (Our profit for this is for our children and for our everyday expenses here and if there are excess then we pay for the materials we used in our livelihood),” she said.
Dahlia and other women inmates are selling handmade bags, wallets, coin purse and sling and backpacks and coin banks.
At a price of P800 for a bag, Dahlia said she gets P50 profit. If the items are orders, she gets 150 for labor.
The Tiyangge sa Piitan opened to the public since last week at the City Jail in Maa where people can buy Christmas presents for their friends and loved-ones or for kris kringle.
Jail Insp. Edo Lobenia, the chief of Community Relations service and spokesperson of the BJMP XI, said the program is an initiative of the city jail to help inmates earn money while they are behind bars.
“This is an annual event already because it is the idea of the office especially with our Regional director Jail Supt. Rayangdayang,” Lobenia said.Rayangdayang graced the activity where some of the female and male inmates show their talent in singing.
The “Tiangge sa Piitan“ is not only a Christmas bazaar but also a venue for inmates to showcase their skills in making “parols”. Last year, the inmates' parols were purchased by the city and until today these parols are used by the city government to spruce up major city streets.
“Nakakatulong eto sa physical and emotional aspects of the inmates kasi nabibigyan sila ng pagkakataon na maipakita ang kanilang talento in making coin banks and an opportunity to expressed their feelings (This helps in the physical and emotional aspects of the inmates because they are given the opportunity to display their talents in making coin banks and to express their feelings),” Lobenia said. (Rhoda Grace Saron/PNA)
