CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY (PIA) — Persons deprived of liberty (PDL) across northern Mindanao participated in the recent Regional Level of the first National BIDA Painting, Handicrafts-making, and Songwriting Challenge for PDL.
This is part of the commitment of the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP)-10 and the Department of the Interior and Local Government’s (DILG)-10 to advocating for a drug-free Philippines.
Held at the SM CDO Uptown Activity Center on May 31, the activity also provided an avenue for the PDLs to sell their products, ranging from wood-carved decorative items to bead paintings, rags, wallets, and more.
“Our sincere desire to showcase their talents and provide them with the opportunity to earn by selling their livelihood products fuels this activity,” said BJMP-10 Regional Director JCSupt Cesar M. Langawin.
During the event, the Iligan City Jail-Female Dormitory PDL created handcrafted “diamond paintings” that caught the attention of some of the mall goers and guests.
Similar to cross-stitching, diamond painting is a new creative approach to crafting colorful artworks by affixing, using a pen-like applicator, vibrantly colored resin rhinestones to a self-adhesive canvas and utilizing a pattern similar to that of a cross-stitch.
Each diamond painting may range from a selling price of P3,000 to P7,000, depending on the intricacy of the designs and framing. BJMP provides the materials for the artworks.
Orders are accommodated through their Facebook page, Iligan City Jail-Female Dormitory Livelihood Products, or by visiting their location at P-5, Tipanoy, Iligan City.
Another handicraft is the production of macramé keychains by the Ozamiz City Jail-Female Dormitory PDL. Macramé uses knotting techniques in creating designs as opposed to the usual weaving or knitting.
The colorful knotted creation serves as a base where a key holder and a few ornamental charms are added, packaged, and sold for only P50 each. One may order these items as giveaways for special occasions or gatherings.
On another display, Malaybalay City Jail featured beadwork necklaces and ornaments, promoting the cultural heritage of the seven tribes of Bukidnon.
Cagayan de Oro City Jail-Male Dormitory displayed their wood relief handicrafts and decoratives, which include animal-shaped wooden sculptures and name plates for heads of offices, among others.
Manolo Fortich District Jail, on the other hand, displayed weaved rags using “retaso,” or cloth cut-outs, and other household items.
Langawin said every purchase, like, share on social media, and word of mouth helps the PDL find a market for their products.
According to Langawin, the bureau no longer views PDLs as the tormentors depicted in action, crime, or gang movies.
“We give them rehabilitative programs, and we go the extra mile. Gone are the days of the punitive kind of treatment of PDL,” he added.
DILG’s Buhay Ingatan, Droga’y Ayawan (Protect Life, Reject Drugs), or BIDA program, is a holistic campaign against illegal drugs aimed at reducing drug demand in communities by national government agencies, local government units, civil society organizations, and faith-based organizations. Rehabilitation and socioeconomic development complement the BIDA program, which operates within the legal framework and respects human rights.
In response to a query from DILG-10 Regional Director Wilhelm M. Suyko, Assistant Division Chief Liza D. Ladres of the Local Government Monitoring and Evaluation Division (LGMED) clarified that the issue of illegal drugs impacts everyone.
“Ang layunin ng BIDA program ay ating pagsamasamahin ang kayang gawin ng bawat mamamayan upang masiguro na tayo ay may laban,” Ladres said.
(The purpose of the BIDA program is to put together what every citizen can do to ensure that we stand a chance.)
She stated that through this activity, the PDL also contributes to the advocacy efforts aimed at ending the illegal drug problem.
Cagayan de Oro City Jail-Male Dormitory, Malaybalay City Jail, Cagayan de Oro City Jail-Female Dormitory received the top honors and will get a chance to compete at the national level in the painting category.
The Cagayan de Oro City Jail-Male Dormitory, Iligan City Jail-Male Dormitory, and Cagayan de Oro City Jail-Female Dormitory also qualified for the national tilt for handicraft-making.
In the songwriting challenge, Cagayan de Oro City Jail-Male Dormitory, Malaybalay City Jail, and Iligan City Jail-Male Dormitory will represent northern Mindanao in the nationals.
The BJMP works to promote the PDL’s talents, skills, and livelihood products so that they can eventually reintegrate into society and contribute to their communities as peaceful, creative, and productive citizens. (SAYU/PIA-10)
