THE Department of Justice (DOJ) has signed a memorandum of agreement with the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) for the skills training of probationers, parolees, and pardonees.
The MOA was inked last Friday between Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla and TESDA Director General Jose Francisco Benitez.
Under the MOA, the DOJ will screen qualified probationers, parolees and pardonees to be referred to TESDA.
Probationers are persons who are convicted of a criminal offense but are not sent to prison, but instead released and placed under the supervision of a probation officer.
Parolees are prisoners conditionally released from correctional institutions after serving the minimum period of their prison sentence, while pardonees are prisoners released on parole or conditional pardon with parole conditions in place.
The MOA, which shall have a duration of three years, tasks the DOJ to be in-charge of informing and encouraging probationers, parolees and pardonees to avail of various skills training programs such as but not limited to TESDA’s short term and community-based training programs, with the goal of acquiring technical skills for employment and career opportunities.
The DOJ is also mandated to continuously monitor them regarding the status of their training in TESDA’s regional, city and provincial centers.
TESDA, on the other hand, will facilitate access to skills training through the extension and mobile training programs of Technical-Vocational Education and Training (TVET) providers and conduct a Training Needs Analysis to determine the skills training programs to be provided.
TESDA will likewise facilitate the conduct of assessment and certification to graduates for certifiable TVET programs subject to the Philippine TVET Competency Assessment and Certification System and other existing rules and regulation on TESDA’s scholarship programs.
“The signing of this memorandum is a clear manifestation of the DOJ and PPA’s steadfast commitment to its mission to rehabilitate and reintegrate our fellow Filipinos citizens undergoing community-based corrections,” DOJ undersecretary-in-charge for the corrections cluster Deo Marco said in a statement Monday.
Last week, 509 inmates released by the Bureau of Corrections took part in a special job fair arranged by the agency in partnership with several business enterprises such as BP One Foods, Inc., Breakfast at Antonio’s, Pedro the Grocer, Balay Dako and PGA Cars.
“The special job fair aims to provide a platform for ex-inmates to explore and venture into various livelihood/business opportunities in aid of their reintegration into society,” BuCor Director General Gregorio Catapang Jr.said.
The 509 released inmates were those with expired prison terms, elderly/sickly, those qualified under the Good Conduct Time Allowance law and those granted parole/executive clemency.
Catapang has been pushing for greater collaboration among government agencies and other stakeholders to prepare inmates for reintegration to society.
The BuCor said 16,657 inmates have been released since 2022 as part of the agency’s overall effort to decongest its prison facilities, especially the New Bilibid Prison in Muntinlupa City.
