Community Corrections Summit, MOA Signing, Highlight Correctional Consciousness Week Celebration

This year, the 29th National Correctional Consciousness Week (NCCW) celebration was highlighted by two important events – signing a Memorandum of Agreement with BJMP and the 2nd National Community Corrections Summit adopting the theme, “Empathy and Empowerment: Understanding the Pathways to Crime for Women Deprived of Liberty.

On October 26, 2023, the Parole and Probation Administration (PPA) and the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP) inked an agreement on an information drive to decongest the city and provincial jails. Administrator Bienvenido O. Benitez, Jr., represented the Parole and Probation Administration, while Jail Director Ruel S. Rivera represented the BJMP. Distinguished guests such as Undersecretary Deo L. Marco and Undersecretary Raul T. Vasquez graced the MOA signing. Meanwhile, witnessing the event were Ms Josefina Santos from the Board of Pardons and Parole (BPP), NCR Regional Director Lucy Nenette V. Rojas, Central Office division chiefs and assistant division chiefs, and volunteer probation assistants from different parts of Metro Manila. Also present during the signing were JSSupt Bernardo M. Sanchez, JInsp John Anthony N. Sagsago, and JO2 Atty. Rona A. Mestiola, and SJO2 Ryan Ventura from BJMP.

On the other hand, the 2nd National Community Corrections Summit on October 27, 2023, was a success. About 732 participants from regional and field offices and the Central Office attended the much-anticipated summit with Ms. Ma. Inez Feria of NoBox Transitions Foundation, Inc. (NoBox Philippines) as the resource person. During her lecture, Ms. Feria emphasized that “it has never been about drugs; It has always been about people.” She urged the listeners to look into the human context of why people use drugs. At the end of the lecture, she showed the Proposed Framework for Reintegration: A New Perspective figure, which captures the current predicament the incarcerated women face in reintegration into society.

Before the end of the summit, Administrator Bienvenido O. Benitez, Jr., through a recorded video message, thanked and congratulated the facilitators and organizers of the annual event and also Ms. Ma. Inez Feria for being the resource speaker at the summit.