From to time, we like to share letters written by the men and women in our College Education Behind Bars Program. Our goal is to provide education helps break the cycle , connecting PDLs students with the kinds of opportunities and insights that enables to help themselves , their families and their communities . For those in our program so that they leave Prison or Jail and never come back. This letter was written to College Education Behind Bars founder Dr. Aland Mizell and Co-founder Attorney Susan Cariaga I would like to start by saying how truly blessed I am to have met all of you. I am truly grateful for the College Education Behind Bars program. It has transformed my life on a level that I never thought was possible. When I started the program, you saw something in me that I did not see in myself at the time. It’s kind of funny when I look back on the past few years and reflect on my experiences while in College Education Behind Bars . For this I will be forever grateful and will carry the benefits of your efforts forward into my life outside the prison walls as you have made my experience one of correction rather than imprisonment.There is not a day that goes by where I do not think of you guys. You have a special place in my heart forever. Please read the rest of the letter
Minority Care International (MCI) Returns to Weekly study Forum on January 28th 2023
National Economic and Development Authority Team Visited College Education Behind Bars in Davao City Jail, January 26,2023
Mr. Rodolfo J. Penales – Presidential Management Staff – Regional Field Unit XI
Ms. Daryl Alegarbes – RDC XI Private Sector Representative for Labor
Ms. Laurice Cyl Pondoyo – RPMC XI Secretariat (NEDA XI)
Ms. Francesca Dianne Solis – RPMC XI Secretariat (NEDA XI)
Dr. Lourdes C. Generalao , PH.D President of the University of Southeastern Philippines , (USeP)
Dr. Bonifacio G. Gabales, Vice President for Academic Affairs, USeP
Dr. Aristeo C. Salapa, College of Development Management Dean, UseP Continue reading
College Education Behind Bars USEP Faculty Orientation
Dr. Aland Mizell, the President of the Social Entrepreneurship Institute (SETBI) , Receives Prison Education Award
![]()



The president of the Social Entrepreneurship Institute, Dr. Aland Mizell, received an award from Bureau of Corrections for initiating College Education Behind Bars in Davao Prison and Penal Farm formerly known as DAPECOL . This initiative serves as a nationwide model, having received national attention as the only such program combining education and rehabilitation for prisoners/students in the Philippines and indeed in Southeast Asia. Dr. Mizell was honored for his work as an educator, for his role in founding this innovative program for the incarcerated, and for his effort to show that learning has the power to change lives. The award was presented during the BuCor 91th th Anniversary, which was held in Davao Prison Penal Farm on January 21, 2023. Dr. Mizell’s being selected to receive this award highlights SETBI’s strong commitment to community service and to providing bright and motivated students with opportunities to experience the transformational power of higher education.
College Education Behind Bars In Davao City Jail Resume In-Person Classes
With the COVID-19 raging, many institutions are putting their trust in vaccines and tried and true mitigations strategies to bring students back to campus this school year 2023-2024. Unfortunately, the pandemic also affected our PDL students access to face-to-face classes in Jail during the Pandemic. Because government mandates suspended visitation, interrupting the instruction of in-person courses. We used Module based instruction during the Pandemic, but students are very happy that resume classes in person. We thank to BJMP regional director CSUPT Isabelo V Cartin Jr for believing education is a great way to rehabilitate our PDLS and the Bestway to reintegrated main society. JCINSP Erwin B.ESDEN , Davao city Jail Annex Warden went over security protocol for our teachers. A Heartfelt Letter of Appreciation for Helping a Woman Make Lasting Changes
College Education Behind Bars: Shattering Stereotypes and Bringing Hope to Many Lives


One of the most pressing issues of our time is the failure to provide meaningful rehabilitation for many Filipinos living behind bars. Many men and women who are incarcerated in jails and prisons did not have access to education. But now, Many PDLs at the DAPECOL have access to College Education inside prison.That access is largely due to the Social Entrepreneurship, Technology, Business Institute (SETBI) initiative, a rigorous and effective prison education program for inmates. More than 45 alumni of College Education Behind Bars have been released. but zero percent have gone back, an extremely low recidivism rate. Last week, Mozo, Cale, and Brion, three more IT students, passed their final theses in spite of challenges. Brion spent seven years in the Davao City female jail while waiting for her sentence, and she was sentenced in twenty-five years in prison, but because she enrolled in College Education Behind Bars and exhibited good behavior, the good conduct time allowance rules inside prison reduced her sentence, and she expects to be released soon having finished her BS in Information Technology from the University of Southern Philippines. This extraordinary achievement puts a human face on the Philippine criminal justice crisis and reveals the lives often erased from public view. If there are more opportunities than obstacles inside jails and prisons, many PDL can successfully be rehabilitated, reformed, and transformed into members of society. Their success is about opportunity and equity, and an important reminder that we can never underestimate the transformative power of education — and the hope it can bring for a second chance. Brion explains that the College Education has guided her into “becoming a better citizen” and an understanding that she has a role to play in her community despite being incarcerated. College Education Behind Bars can also provide a learning opportunity for those reading about its success that might change their life and the paths they choose after seeing what these inmates have learned by pursuing an education.
Minority Care International MCI donates Computer to DAPECOL Education and training section
The Minority Care International (MCI) has donated laptop to the DAPECOL to be used for education of persons deprived of liberty (PDLs).
Dr. Mizell and Attorney Susan Cariaga visited Mr. Serafin P. Barreto Jr, Undersecretary for Public Safety
Dr. Mizell was a resource person at PCIJ’s forum on prison reform on Nov. 15, 2022
Dr. Mizell was among one of panel of discussants on prison reform in the in the Philippines . He presented his insights and proposals for policy reform in the Philippine prison system. Dr. M
izell also talked more about the College Education Behind Bars in Davao City. There is indeed much to learn from this program. PCIJ, in partnership with American Bar Association ABA-ROLI, hold a forum in Nov. 15, 2022, on the rights of persons deprived of liberty (PDLs) in jails and detention facilities in the Philippines and what is the best the way to reform the prison system and reduce the recidivism and congesting rate. Participants from the academe, civil society, and government joined the culminating activity of PCIJ’s Prison Reporting Projects titled ;” Life inside ; Confronting the humanitarian Crisis in the Philippines Jails and Prisons.” PCIJ enlisted experienced journalist in different parts of the country to report on the conditions of PDLS in various jails and prisons. Continue reading














