DIPOLOG
CITY – Thirty four probationers, parolees and volunteers from five
municipalities of Zamboanga del Norte have participated in the “Brigada Eskwela”
at Roxas Central School in Barangay Langatian, Roxas, Zamboanga del Norte.
Jose
Allan Santillana, Chief Parole and Probation Officer, said the activity is part
of the community-based rehabilitation treatment program for the clients of the
Zamboanga del Norte Parole and Probation Office (PPO) from the municipalities
of Roxas, Sergio Osmeña, Katipunan, Manukan and Jose Dalman.
The
volunteers’ participation in this year’s “Brigada Eskwela” was realized after
the clients underwent a “conferencing,” a restorative justice process of the PPO.
Santillana
pointed out “that through this activity, the parolees and probationers hoped to
repay the damage they had done against their community and hasten their normal
return to the society where they once belonged.”
“This
activity aims to help instill in the clients the feeling of self-worth and
belongingness to the community and restore the confidence in them,” he said.
The
Parole and Probation Officer hoped that this activity would also awaken the
community of the reality that these offenders are also human being and that
when properly guided, instead of being admonished, can still become assets and
productive members of the society.
Aside
from guiding the offenders back to their normal life, Santillana said, their
involvement in the Brigada Eskwela also served as the agency’s contribution to
DepEd’s preparation for the opening of classes this school year 2013-2014.