The San Ignacio: Ministries

Philippine Jesuit Prison Service

An Inmate Calls for Help

I am a prisoner.

I suffer not so much because I am confined within the four walls of my prison cell, but because I am separated from my loved ones. Despite my offense, I still know how to love, you know, and I dearly love my wife and my children.

When I consider that my family is without a breadwinner, when I am told that my children go hungry now and then, or that my wife is tempted to find a replacement to be father to my children, I fall on my knees in utter pain, and sob, "This is punishment!"

I look around for compassion, but cannot find any. Life behind bars is stressful, and the environment, hostile. My fellow inmates have problems of their own to drive them mad; brutalized by prison life -- by congestion, filth, and vice -- they walk about aimlessly and ominously, anger prowling in their hearts.

As an inmate, I am told what to wear, what to eat, when to rise, and when to sleep. Treated like the meanest beast, I long ago should have ceased to be the human being that I am -- except that I still know how to love, and so there's hope for me.

When the day of my release finally arrives, I shall then be turning back on my life as a convict, but only to face the lonely life of an ex-con, barred from employment, and from friendships, because of my record.

So gloomy and so dark has my world become, that the slightest stirring of love, the faintest ray of light, awakens hope within me -- hope that this now distant love, this far-away light, is on its way to my little corner, drawing nearer and nearer, until it touches me, takes me by the hand, and tells me to rise up.

Thus far I've been waiting.

photo by:
Michie Marie Zamora

The PJPS
The Philippine Jesuit Prison Service (PJPS), established as a foundation in 1994, is an organization of Jesuit and lay prison volunteer workers. It is based in the Philippines' premiere correctional institution, the New Bilibid Prisons (NBP) in Muntinlupa City, Metro Manila.

Our Vision
The Philippine Jesuit Prison Service is a community of faith, sharing in the mission of Christ, rooted in a shared
Ignatian spirituality. It is an effective agent in promoting an integrated prison ministry towards an empowered prison community.

Our Mission
The Philippine Jesuit Prison Service has been missioned primarily to assist in the rehabilitation of presently-convicted inmates in the national penitentiary and the women's correctional institution, parolees, pardonees, probationers, and those who have already served their sentences. Nevertheless, the work of rehabilitation shall not be authentic, unless the rehabilitation of the other sectors of the prison community (victims, families of inmates, government correctional personnel, and ourselves) is addressed as well. Thus, the PJPS has also been missioned to:
Ø Empower members of the prison society to:
s actively, effectively, and totally participate in the task of rehabilitation
s facilitate needed reforms in the Philippine criminal justice system
Ø Serve directly members of the prison community
Ø Identify and facilitate opportunities for:
s professionalization of the prison ministry
s development of the correctional system
Ø Enable those who serve the prison community to gain spiritual depth and maturity as they grow in their commitment to Christian charity and service

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An Invitation
Do YOU wish to help PEOPLE behind bars?

If you desire to help people behind bars, and in many ways, their families, government correctional personnel, the Philippine Jesuit Prison Service has various programs and services which you might be interested to take part in:

PJPS Programs

Livelihood Program
The Livelihood Programs integrate evangelization with economic upliftment, looking at the various projects not only as possible sources of income for the released individuals and their families but also as powerful means of evangelization to patrons from the free society. At present, the existing livelihood programs are bakery and candle-manufacturing. With the ongoing support of dedicated lay volunteers, we envision the Program to be self-liquidating and, in the long term, be able to fund other developmental and formational activities for the inmates and their families.

Advocacy
Advocacy work involves the following major components: promoting prison awareness in the free society; seeking assistance for youth offenders; proposing penal and judicial reforms; conducting researches and linkaging with various networks; campaigning for the abolition of the death penalty and presenting viable and more Christian alternatives. PJPS involves itself in talks and fora and circulates numerous correspondences to arouse more concern from the free society.

Pre-Release Rehabilitation Program
This Program prepares the prisoners for their life in the free society. Various programs are introduced, most of which are initiated by volunteer communities, directed towards making them productive, responsible and Christ-centered individuals, aware of their personal dignity and empowered to freely decide and actively participate in domestic and community affairs.

Post-Release Rehabilitation Program
This Program addresses the needs of individuals released from prison. The scope of the program ranges from providing a transitory home for displaced clients to seeking or providing employment for them that they may become productive and autonomous members of the free society. Stress is given also on the importance of strengthening once-severed family ties thus creating a support system which may help reduce the likelihood of recidivism.

Scholarship Program
By providing educational assistance to inmates' dependents, they are enabled to avail themselves of the benefits of formal education, an investment for the individual and the whole family. The Program puts emphasis on education as an economic tool while fully recognizing the various other uses and advantages of education.

Formation Program
PJPS provides its various clientele with venues for social, psychological, intellectual, and spiritual growth through different modules and activities.
PJPS also recognizes the value of caring for those who care for the prisoners and their families --- the volunteers, friends, and benefactors. Christian charity and commitment to service is further strengthened by holding occasional retreats and recollections for them.

Volunteers Program
This Program aims to increase the larger society's awareness regarding the prisoners and the prisons by facilitating the exposure and community outreach activities of different schools, institutions, organizations, and individuals. This is also a venue for possible volunteers to identify which among the various program will benefit best from the resources they can offer should they decide to commit to the prison ministry on a more regular basis.

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PJPS Services

Para-Legal and Legal Assistance
PJPS helps enhance the knowledge of inmates where legal matters are concerned. Paralegal volunteers and inmates trained to be paralegal workers work closely together in following-up and researching on the cases of inmate clients for their early release. PJPS also endorses cases of some clients to more competent legal counsels.

Sacramental and Pastoral Services
Masses are held daily at the Medium and Maximum Security Compounds. Other sacramental and pastoral services and related activities are also made available for the inmates and their families. These serve to highlight the role of intensifying the faith of the prisoners in God and following the examples and teachings of Jesus Christ as they serve their sentence behind bars.

Social and Medical Services
PJPS, with the aid of volunteer groups, attends to the immediate and pressing needs of the inmates, released individuals, and their families through the following services: counseling sessions for clients in crisis; medicines and free medical and dental services for sick clients; regular supplemental feeding sessions at the NBP Hospital. Other forms of assistance are also provided in as far as the PJPS can respond to the needs of the clients.

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Contact Information

PHILIPPINE JESUIT PRISON SERVICE
Ina ng Awa Parish Church Compound
New Bilibid Prisons Reservation
1703 Muntinlupa City
Metro Manila, Philippines
Fax: 807-7979; Phone: (0918) 875-5092
E-Mail: piggyps@yahoo.com

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	About the PJPS Programs Services Contact Info Philippine Jesuit Prison Service An Inmate Calls for Help I am a prisoner. I suffer not so much because I am confined within the four walls of my prison cell, but because I am separated from my loved ones. Despite my offense, I still know how to love, you know, and I dearly love my wife and my children. When I consider that my family is without a breadwinner, when I am told that my children go hungry now and then, or that my wife is tempted to find a replacement to be father to my children, I fall on my knees in utter pain, and sob, "This is punishment!" I look around for compassion, but cannot find any. Life behind bars is stressful, and the environment, hostile. My fellow inmates have problems of their own to drive them mad; brutalized by prison life -- by congestion, filth, and vice -- they walk about aimlessly and ominously, anger prowling in their hearts. As an inmate, I am told what to wear, what to eat, when to rise, and when to sleep. Treated like the meanest beast, I long ago should have ceased to be the human being that I am -- except that I still know how to love, and so there's hope for me. When the day of my release finally arrives, I shall then be turning back on my life as a convict, but only to face the lonely life of an ex-con, barred from employment, and from friendships, because of my record. So gloomy and so dark has my world become, that the slightest stirring of love, the faintest ray of light, awakens hope within me -- hope that this now distant love, this far-away light, is on its way to my little corner, drawing nearer and nearer, until it touches me, takes me by the hand, and tells me to rise up. Thus far I've been waiting. photo by: Michie Marie Zamora The PJPS The Philippine Jesuit Prison Service (PJPS), established as a foundation in 1994, is an organization of Jesuit and lay prison volunteer workers. It is based in the Philippines' premiere correctional institution, the New Bilibid Prisons (NBP) in Muntinlupa City, Metro Manila. Our Vision The Philippine Jesuit Prison Service is a community of faith, sharing in the mission of Christ, rooted in a shared Ignatian spirituality. It is an effective agent in promoting an integrated prison ministry towards an empowered prison community. Our Mission The Philippine Jesuit Prison Service has been missioned primarily to assist in the rehabilitation of presently-convicted inmates in the national penitentiary and the women's correctional institution, parolees, pardonees, probationers, and those who have already served their sentences. Nevertheless, the work of rehabilitation shall not be authentic, unless the rehabilitation of the other sectors of the prison community (victims, families of inmates, government correctional personnel, and ourselves) is addressed as well. Thus, the PJPS has also been missioned to: Ø Empower members of the prison society to: s actively, effectively, and totally participate in the task of rehabilitation s facilitate needed reforms in the Philippine criminal justice system Ø Serve directly members of the prison community Ø Identify and facilitate opportunities for: s professionalization of the prison ministry s development of the correctional system Ø Enable those who serve the prison community to gain spiritual depth and maturity as they grow in their commitment to Christian charity and service [back to top] An Invitation Do YOU wish to help PEOPLE behind bars? If you desire to help people behind bars, and in many ways, their families, government correctional personnel, the Philippine Jesuit Prison Service has various programs and services which you might be interested to take part in: PJPS Programs Livelihood Program The Livelihood Programs integrate evangelization with economic upliftment, looking at the various projects not only as possible sources of income for the released individuals and their families but also as powerful means of evangelization to patrons from the free society. At present, the existing livelihood programs are bakery and candle-manufacturing. With the ongoing support of dedicated lay volunteers, we envision the Program to be self-liquidating and, in the long term, be able to fund other developmental and formational activities for the inmates and their families. Advocacy Advocacy work involves the following major components: promoting prison awareness in the free society; seeking assistance for youth offenders; proposing penal and judicial reforms; conducting researches and linkaging with various networks; campaigning for the abolition of the death penalty and presenting viable and more Christian alternatives. PJPS involves itself in talks and fora and circulates numerous correspondences to arouse more concern from the free society. Pre-Release Rehabilitation Program This Program prepares the prisoners for their life in the free society. Various programs are introduced, most of which are initiated by volunteer communities, directed towards making them productive, responsible and Christ-centered individuals, aware of their personal dignity and empowered to freely decide and actively participate in domestic and community affairs. Post-Release Rehabilitation Program This Program addresses the needs of individuals released from prison. The scope of the program ranges from providing a transitory home for displaced clients to seeking or providing employment for them that they may become productive and autonomous members of the free society. Stress is given also on the importance of strengthening once-severed family ties thus creating a support system which may help reduce the likelihood of recidivism. Scholarship Program By providing educational assistance to inmates' dependents, they are enabled to avail themselves of the benefits of formal education, an investment for the individual and the whole family. The Program puts emphasis on education as an economic tool while fully recognizing the various other uses and advantages of education. Formation Program PJPS provides its various clientele with venues for social, psychological, intellectual, and spiritual growth through different modules and activities. PJPS also recognizes the value of caring for those who care for the prisoners and their families --- the volunteers, friends, and benefactors. Christian charity and commitment to service is further strengthened by holding occasional retreats and recollections for them. Volunteers Program This Program aims to increase the larger society's awareness regarding the prisoners and the prisons by facilitating the exposure and community outreach activities of different schools, institutions, organizations, and individuals. This is also a venue for possible volunteers to identify which among the various program will benefit best from the resources they can offer should they decide to commit to the prison ministry on a more regular basis. [back to top] PJPS Services Para-Legal and Legal Assistance PJPS helps enhance the knowledge of inmates where legal matters are concerned. Paralegal volunteers and inmates trained to be paralegal workers work closely together in following-up and researching on the cases of inmate clients for their early release. PJPS also endorses cases of some clients to more competent legal counsels. Sacramental and Pastoral Services Masses are held daily at the Medium and Maximum Security Compounds. Other sacramental and pastoral services and related activities are also made available for the inmates and their families. These serve to highlight the role of intensifying the faith of the prisoners in God and following the examples and teachings of Jesus Christ as they serve their sentence behind bars. Social and Medical Services PJPS, with the aid of volunteer groups, attends to the immediate and pressing needs of the inmates, released individuals, and their families through the following services: counseling sessions for clients in crisis; medicines and free medical and dental services for sick clients; regular supplemental feeding sessions at the NBP Hospital. Other forms of assistance are also provided in as far as the PJPS can respond to the needs of the clients. [back to top] Contact Information PHILIPPINE JESUIT PRISON SERVICE Ina ng Awa Parish Church Compound New Bilibid Prisons Reservation 1703 Muntinlupa City Metro Manila, Philippines Fax: 807-7979; Phone: (0918) 875-5092 E-Mail: piggyps@yahoo.com [back to top]