BY RUBY SILUBRICO
Persons deprived of liberty (PDLs) at the Iloilo City District Jail – Male Dormitory in Barangay Ungka, Jaro, Iloilo City usually count the days to Christmas.
It is the time of the year when they are reunited with their families and get glimpses of what they left behind for a life of incarceration.
But the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic dashed their hopes of a merrier celebration.
This year, their families could not visit them in person.
As early as March, the jail facility imposed a lockdown and disallowed daily visitations, including conjugal visits, in compliance with the government’s declaration of a public health emergency.
By mid-September, 38 inmates and two jail personnel tested positive for COVID-19.
Some two months after the first infection was recorded, all inmates were cleared from the viral disease. But restrictions are still in place in a bid to curtail the virus transmission.
E-DALAW
Since no one is allowed to visit the detention facility, the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology came up with a “compassionate” alternative – the “e-dalaw” or virtual visits.
This Christmas, PDLs are allowed to use Skype or Facebook for a maximum of two minutes to have electronic visits under the supervision of jail personnel, according to Jail Superintendent Mary Chanette Espartero.
There are four computer units and five cellular phones used in electronic visitations.
PDLs may use these from 8 a.m. to 11 a.m. and from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. and only intended for emergency purposes and important matters, Espartero explained.
Although e-dalaw cannot replace the intimacy of a physical meeting, Espartero said it does offer prisoners a glimpse of normality.
“We considered the needs of our inmates. They want to greet their families and relatives on Christmas Day,” she added.
Inmates have been cooperative with the authorities since the virtual visitation was carried out, she added.
LIVELIHOOD IN JAIL
Despite the pandemic and the lockdown, Espartero said they decided to continue the “Christmas Parol of Hope” project together with the city government and local business sector headed by the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry-Iloilo.
Lantern making has become a way for the inmates to earn extra income, according to Espartero. It also gives them a safe outlet to express their creativity and help fight boredom and loneliness that may lead to bouts of depression.
The lanterns glowing at night along major streets in Iloilo City were recycled from the old ones used in 2019 and were refurbished with a design bearing the national colors of the Philippine flag.
A parol measures 6 feet by 6 feet made of bamboo and plastic charol or shiny colored paper, and is fitted with a light bulb.
So far, the PDLs made a total of 2,350 parols paid by the city and provincial governments.
But despite the high sales of lanterns, PDLs still feel the void of their loved ones’ absence on Christmas Day. Espartero vowed to ensure that the PDLs would feel the warmth of their families./PN
