BJMP personnel display small Christmas trees made from recyclable materials at the lobby of Cebu City Hall (CDN PHOTO/JUNJIE MEDOZA).
Products made by prison inmates were displayed inside the Cebu City Hall starting Monday.
The Bureau of Jail Management and Penology in Central Visayas (BJMP-7) facilitated the exhibit with a theme “Creation Behind Bars: Inmates Livelihood Products Exhibit and Trade Fair 2016.”
It is a five-day exhibit that showcases products made by inmates coming from the cities of Mandaue, Lapu-Lapu, Naga, Bogo, Danao, Carcar and Toledo in Cebu, and the town of Talibon in Bohol.
Jail Officer 1 Jeramay Campaner of the said this is their fifth annual exhibit.
“Since we cannot bring the community inside the jail and we cannot also bring the inmates outside, the BJMP regional office would bring their products for them so that the community would know what our inmates are capable of making,” she said.
She added that the proceeds of the exhibit would be directly given to the inmates.
The price of each item was also decided by the inmates.
“We don’t have a cut (sales commission). It is theirs, for their basic needs,” she said.
Among the products displayed are small Christmas trees made of colorful beads, bags, furniture, mirrors and table decors.
Campaner said their highest sales was in year 2014 with P400,000.
She said the purpose of the exhibit is to create an advocacy and awareness to the community that the inmates are also productive while undergoing rehabilitation.