50 Talisay inmates get livelihood assistance

Female inmates fall in line while waiting for their names to be called to receive the livelihood assistance from the Talisay City government and the Office of Cebu First District Representative Gerald Anthony “Samsam” Gullas. cdn photo/futch anthony inso

At least 50 inmates from Talisay City Jail received a livelihood assistance worth P1,580 each yesterday, after they’ve completed their Bread and Pastry training conducted by the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (Tesda).

The assistance was provided by the Talisay City government and the Office of Cebu First District Representative Gerald Anthony “Samsam” Gullas.

The amount will serve as capital for their livelihood.

Out of the 50 inmates who received the assistance, 27 are male, while 23 are female.

One of the recipients of the livelihood assistance, Anthony Nator, 61, is facing charges related to illegal drugs.

Nator, a former scuba diver instructor, has been staying in the jail facility since September 2016.

“Who can imagine that we can bake a black forest cake? Or even (cake) rolls and chips ahoy. We are really thankful to our instructors and for this program because, at first we really thought that our lives would end up in this jail facility. But due to this program, we have seen hope and light, especially if we go out of this facility,” Nator said.

The jail facility has also its own bakery, where inmates cook and bake breads and pastries.

“As of now, we only sell our breads to our fellow inmates inside the jail. But we are hoping that we can also supply establishments outside this facility,” he added.

Nato said he was planning to allot a portion of the assistance to buy notebooks and other school materials for his fellow inmates, who currently undergo technical and vocational (tech-voc) skills training.

SJO2 Joselito Cabunag, in-charge of the Inmates Welfare and Development Division, said that aside from the bread and pastry, the Commission on Higher Education (CHEd) is also offering other tech-voc courses to inmates such as hilot wellness, barangay health services, carpentry, smaw welding and basic electronics.

“This is very important for their (inmates) readiness to join the mainstream society once they are released from prison. It gives them hope that when they go out, they can still be useful,” Cabunag said.

He said that any inmates can enroll in the program, as long as they have the willingness and dedication to study and finish their chosen course.

Cabunag said they were also coordinating with Tesda for possible additional courses that they can offer to the inmates of Talisay City Jail.

Cabunag also revealed that all the inmates who finished the tech-voc courses since last year will receive a National Certificate (NC) 2 from Tesda during their commencement exercises on August 17.

Meanwhile, Coleen Enajada from the City Social Welfare and Development Office (CSWDO), said that aside from the jail facilities, Congressman Gullas also allocated slots for beneficiaries from other local government units (LGUs) in the district.

He said the slots are distributed to the city-owned Livelihood Training Center and to other tech-voc private institutions.