A total of 202 Bangsamoro persons deprived of liberty (PDLs) at General Santos City Jail (GSCJ) receive vital support from the Bangsamoro Government and other partners on July 31, 2024. (Hamdan Badrudin/BIO)
GENERAL SANTOS CITY—A total of 202 Bangsamoro persons deprived of liberty (PDLs) at General Santos City Jail (GSCJ) here received a range of essential services, including legal, medical, psychosocial, and relief assistance on July 31, 2024.
This initiative was led by various ministries, offices, and agencies (MOAs) of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM), such as the Office for Other Bangsamoro Communities (OOBC), Ministry of Social Services and Development (MSSD), Office of the Chief Minister’s (OCM) Project Tulong Alay sa Bangsamorong Nangangailangan (TABANG), and Bangsamoro Women Commission (BWC).
Partners in this initiative involved the National Commission on Muslim Filipinos (NCMF), Consortium on the Bangsamoro Civil Society-Support to the Bangsamoro Transition (CBCS-SUBATRA), and the Bangsamoro Development Agency (BDA).
OOBC Executive Director Noron Andan highlighted that these interventions align with the principles of moral governance and inclusivity in serving the Bangsamoro community.
“It does not mean that the Bangsamoro Government’s programs end just because they are behind the bars of the prison cells,” Andan stated.
“If we extend help to calamity-stricken Bangsamoro families, we also need to provide aid to these PDLs. They can also be compared to the victims of fire incidents; the only difference is that what is being burned is their future, so we need to include them in our initiatives, regardless of where they are now,” he added.
The beneficiaries included 146 male and 56 female PDLs.
Under Section 12, Article VI of the Bangsamoro Organic Law (BOL), the Bangsamoro Government, in coordination with local government units where other Bangsamoro communities are located, and the appropriate national government agencies, is mandated to provide assistance to enhance their economic, social, and cultural development.
Police Superintendent Brian Sison, GSCJ’s Jail Warden, reaffirmed the interim government’s commitment to creating an empowered, cohesive, and progressive Bangsamoro.
“The Convergence Team is here to remind you that the government does not forget about you, especially in helping you to change your lives and become better individuals,” said Sison.
On Aug. 19, the OOBC plans to coordinate with concerned stakeholders in the Zamboanga Peninsula to extend further assistance to the Bangsamoro people in the region.
In February 2023, the Convergence Team pioneered services for Bangsamoro PDLs at the North Cotabato Provincial Jail in Barangay Amas, Kidapawan. (Johamin Inok/BIO)
