NEW ERA, Quezon City (Eagle News) –Realizing the importance of spiritual nourishment in the rehabilitation of the detainees accused before the courts, the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP) and the Iglesia Ni Cristo (INC) signed a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) on Wednesday allowing the INC to conduct religious and humanitarian activities in all the municipal, city and district jails in the country.
Chief Superintendent Serafin Barretto, Officer-in-Charge BJMP, and Bro. Radel G. Cortez, INC General Secretary led the MOA signing in the INC Central Office.
Under the MOA, the INC will be granted access to the facilities inside all the jails under the control of the BJMP wherein they could conduct socio-civic programs like promoting literacy among the detainees and medical missions.
Barretto believes that this partnership with the INC will give the BJMP a boost in the rehabilitation of the detainees. “In our studies, there is no better way to rehabilitate the detainees than developing their spiritual health. The good thing with the INC, aside from their religious missions, they also give free humanitarian aid, free livelihood programs, and provide free education to the detainees through the Alternative Learning System (ALS) and other Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) programs”, Barretto added.
According to Barretto, this move is also in line with BJMP’s mission to provide the basic needs of the inmates and conduct activities for the development of the detainees.
Meanwhile, Cortez said that that INC Executive Minister, Bro. Eduardo V. Manalo approved this agreement because he is also concerned of the welfare of the detainees under the jurisdiction of the BJMP, be they INC members or not.
Prior to this MOA signing, the INC has already been conducting religious and humanitarian activities in the different municipal, city, and provincial jails across the country. With this new agreement other BJMP facilities could easily benefit from the different programs provided by the INC.
The MOA is valid for 20 years and could be renewed thereafter.