By Dominic B. dela Cruz
Staff reporter
Laoag City—Showing that the country’s correctional system may still work, the Laoag City Bureau of Jail Management and Penology celebrated the graduation of 17 detainees from the Alternative Learning System (ALS) Accreditation and Equivalency Program of the Dept. of Education.
Jail Chief Insp. Herminigildo Rivera congratulated the graduates for SY 2015-2016 during the graduation exercises held at the city jail’s therapeutic center on August 19.
Four detainees graduated for the elementary level, while 13 finished their secondary equivalent education.
Mr. Rivera said ALS is open to all inmates.
He thanked the Laoag education officials for the program, which he said gives detainees the opportunity to better themselves through education.
He also thanked the “mobile teachers” for their “unending and continuing” support. Classes are held Tuesdays and Thursdays.
The Ilocos Times learned this year’s graduation is already the third ALS batch at the city jail.
Retired education supervisor and Andres Agpalza Memorial Learning Center CEO Gregoria Agbayani also congratulated the 17 ALS graduates.
Ms. Agbayani who served as the guest speaker said that the inmate graduates are “lucky” for availing the said program as this excused them from the daily school grind.
She stressed that the program aims to give proper education to out-of-school youth until the secondary level. She added that education is really for all and everybody deserves to study, even those currently detained.
The ALS secondary graduates can now continue to the senior high school program once they are released from jail.
Classification
Meanwhile, the city jail earlier implemented the BJMP segregation and classification system in support of “Oplan Rody”.
Mr. Rivera explained that the segregation and classification of inmates identifies those who have illegal drugs cases. He added that this would make it easier to closely monitor their activities.
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| Jail officials supervise the segregation of detainees facing drug-related charges. (Doms dela Cruz) |
As of August 19, 2016, out of 255 total inmates, 190 are facing drug-related cases.
