La Union Persons Deprived of Liberty Empowered
By: Zenaida D. Sellem, GPC-PSWDO | Photo By: GPC-PSWDO | Date: November 25, 2020
A total of 28 Person Deprived of Liberty (PDLs) of the La Union Provincial Jail (LUPJ) empowered during the focused group discussion (FGD) on Self-reflection at the Provincial Jail in Barangay Camansi, City of San Fernando on November 25, 2020.
The participants focus on the topic “Myself as a Person” where the detainees learned that knowing themselves is true wisdom. Everybody shared their strengths and weaknesses.
The said activity is a prevention and management strategy of the Provincial Government of La Union (PGLU) through the LUPJ in collaboration with the Provincial Social Welfare and Development Office (PSWDO) to reduce the burden of COVID-19 Pandemic to the inmates since prison visits are temporarily suspended not only in La Union, but nationwide.
To reduce boredom among the detainees, the LUPJ made adjustments to prison substitute activities where access to equipment and the internet are provided free of charge to contact their loved ones. Secured phone handsets are also available and other communication methods were encouraged, such as writing letters, increased access to telephone landlines, and mobile phones through the use of voicemail and videocall service like group chats or SMS.
Moreover in LUPJ, measures have been implemented to reduce disease transmission within prisons through infection control protocols (proper entry screening and mass screenings inside detention facilities, avoiding overcrowding, staggering meal and recreation times and face coverings), signages, information education awareness and creating isolation units for infected patients to halt the disease's further spread.
The effects of the pandemic are considerable but they also create opportunities for new, innovative methods of supporting detainees and for strengthening links between health care, criminal justice, and government agencies, with potential long-lasting benefits. The PGLU shares the BJMP’s view that detainees deserve the same standard of health care as in the community.
