I๐ป๐ฐ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ฐ๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ฎ๐๐ฒ๐ฑ ๐ฏ๐๐ ๐ฒ๐ฑ๐๐ฐ๐ฎ๐๐ฒ๐ฑ: ๐ฆ๐ถ๐
๐ฃ๐๐๐ ๐ฒ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ป ๐ฐ๐ผ๐น๐น๐ฒ๐ด๐ฒ ๐ฑ๐ฒ๐ด๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฒ ๐๐ต๐ฟ๐ผ๐๐ด๐ต ๐ด๐ฟ๐ผ๐๐ป๐ฑ๐ฏ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฎ๐ธ๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐๐ผ๐๐, ๐ก๐๐ข, ๐ฆ๐จ๐ ๐ฝ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐๐ป๐ฒ๐ฟ๐๐ต๐ถ๐ฝPhysically incarcerated but now intellectually free, six (6) persons deprived of liberty (PDLs) from Davao Prison and Penal Farm (DPPF) earned their college degree today, proving that freedom is restricted but their right to receive education is not.
Through the College Education Behind Bars (CEBB), a government, NGO, and SUC partnership program, PDLs were given the opportunity to acquire tertiary education for free from Davao del Norte State College (DNSC).
โOur PDLs have violated the law and they are deprived of their liberty but not of their fundamental rights, including your right to receive education,โ CHED Secretary Popoy De Vera said during his commencement address.
โGaya sa mahigit dalawang milyong kabataang Pilipino sa labas, sa pamamagitan ng CEBB ang mga PDL ay nabigyan ng oportunidad na makapag-aral at makapagtapos sa kolehiyo ng libre. Sila ay benepisyaryo din ng Republic Act 10931 or the Free Universal Access to Quality Tertiary Education Act,โ De Vera added.
CEBB is the first of its kind in the Philippines and in Asia to provide college education and to construct a physical college building inside the jail.
It is a product of the partnership of SUCs, Social Entrepreneurship, Technology, and Business Institute (SETBI), Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP) in Region XI, Dangerous Drug Board (DDB), the Bureau of Corrections (BuCor), and the support of the local government of Davao.
โOne way to reduce the cycle of incarceration and recidivism is through education and job training. We believe that investing in human resources no matter who they are or where they come from is the best investment to make,โ SETBI President and Founder Aland David Mizell said.
โDahil sa suporta at aruga ng ibaโt ibang sangay ng gobyerno at ng SETBI, ang mga PDLs ay nagkaroon ng kakayahan at kompiyansang kinakailangan upang makabalik sa lipunan,โ Associate Justice of Supreme Court of the Philippines Jose Midas P. Marquez said.
The University of Southeastern Philippines was the first SUC to deliver the CEBB Program in the Davao City Jail in 2017 and was replicated by DNSC to facilitate college education at Davao Prison and Penal Farm.
โI encourage USeP and DNSC to document their delivery of the CEBB program in order to encourage other HEIs across the country to replicate and launch similar initiatives in their respective localities. We need to have more of this to ensure that in our education mission no one Filipino is left behind,โ De Vera said.
To date, the program has produced more than 88 graduates and more than 157 students are going to enroll in the CEBB programs for the 2024-2025 school year.
