ANTIQUE – The Department of Science and Technology (DOST) has allocated P1.4 million to sustain and expand a livelihood project for persons deprived of liberty (PDLs) at the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP) facility in San Jose de Buenavista, Antique.
DOST Antique Provincial Director Eleazer Salvador Moscoso said the fund will support the procurement of additional equipment and materials for the project’s implementation in the second quarter of 2026.
“We have a project, Holistic Opportunities and People’s Empowerment (HOPE), with the BJMP aimed at equipping PDLs with the necessary skills and opportunities for their successful reintegration into society upon their release,” Moscoso said.
The initiative is implemented under the DOST’s Community Empowerment through Science and Technology (CEST) program in partnership with the University of Antique–College of Industrial Technology (UA-CIT) and the BJMP.
Under the program, UA-CIT has trained PDLs in bread and pastry production. The baked goods are being marketed through their bakery enterprise, Pandekosa Baquery, which was established in 2023 with support from the institution and the PDLs’ families.
Moscoso said the DOST will provide additional equipment and materials, including proofing pans, refrigerator chillers, baking trays, and storage containers, to improve production capacity and efficiency.
Aside from equipment support, PDLs will undergo further training on product standardization, quality assurance for food safety compliance, shelf-life testing, and entrepreneurship and marketing.
“The entrepreneurship and marketing training is intended to capacitate them in costing and inventory management, packaging and labeling, and basic marketing strategies so they can sell their products in local markets, pasalubong centers, and even online,” Moscoso said.
The DOST–Food and Nutrition Research Institute (FNRI) will also introduce new technologies, including the enhanced nutribun, in coordination with the UA–Sibalom campus.
The program aims to strengthen rehabilitation efforts by providing PDLs with practical skills and sustainable livelihood opportunities that can help ease their reintegration into society upon release. (PNA)
