DOLE-6 grants P5.8M fund for projects of ex-convicts

ILOILO CITY, Philippines  — The Department of Labor and Employment-Region 6 has given a total of P5.8 million fund to finance various livelihood projects for 652 former convicts, probationers, parolees and pardonees in western Visayas.

The fund is under the Rehabilitation Enhancement for Holistic Advancement of Beneficiaries (REHAB) program, which is a special convergence project of the DOLE and the Department of Justice’s Probation and Parole Administration-6, as well as of other national government agencies and non-government organizations in the region.

REHAB has been aimed at helping ex-offenders in western Visayas through the provision of various programs, projects and services to help them mitigate the barriers that prevent them from reintegrating into the community, and eventually become more productive members of the society

DOLE-6 awarded the check to DOJ-PPA-6 Regional Director Charito Zamora, who said Region 6 was lucky for having such kind of a program. She also extended the beneficiaries’ gratefulness to DOLE-6 for “the Christmas gift of the parolees, probationers and pardoners,” which would help them rebuild their lives.

DOLE-6 Regional Director Ponciano Ligutom, for his part, said the livelihood assistance for the ex-offenders include projects on hog/swine fattening, fish vending, vegetable production, buying and selling of food and merchandise, shrimp/fish culture, poultry-raising, and rice and corn production, pork and chicken barbecue vending, cellphone repair and accessories, candle-making, bakery, poultry supply vending and machine shop.

Also in the REHAB pipeline are massage service kits, furniture-making, candy-making, ice-cream-making, sari-sari store, bachoyan, duck-raising/egg production, goat-raising/breeding, barber shop kit, carenderia, rug/pot-making, fishing boat, swine breeding, mango production, welding services, dressmaking/tailoring, fruit vending, carpentry, car painting, pedicab, upholstery, vulcanizing and selling of interior and meat vending, among others.

The total costs of the various projects amounted to P12,163,940.60. The DOJ-PPA put in P56,568.00 while the beneficiaries devoted P6,354,886.70 as counterpart fund. To operate the REHAB project, several partner-agencies/organizations also gave their commitment to help. —Jennifer P. Rendon (FREEMAN)