the bilibid trip: a change in perspective

i forgot the exact date when we had a class trip to bilibid prison, in any way its actually insignificant.

i have never been in a prison before this trip, so my idea of a prison was like that of the movies where prisoners are kept in dirty cells and they act like really creepy (and crazy) people,i was so wrong.

the first thing i saw as we entered the premises of bilibid was a tennis court, yes a TENNIS court. i felt pissed off when i saw it,i even commented out loud "akala ko ba kulungan toh? eh, bat may tennis court??!" i had this idea that prisoners should be deprived of having fun because they're..prisoners..simply because they're prisoners. to make things more confusing, there was a very peaceful lake beautfying the place, at that point i just had to say "eh, recreational center ata toh eh!". i will later find out and realize why these courts and lakes are present in the area.

the first stop was the maximim security. we were not allowed to go inside the actual area where the prisoners were kept, we had to go up this sort of roof top and view them from there. i felt uneasy doing so because it seemed as if we were looking at an aquarium and the creatures inside of it was a lower being than us. i didnt feel comfortable looking at them at all.

we went to the museum after. the only thing worth writting about was the pictures of the criminals that was put to death (echegaray and the others). the other "historical" things is just so and so.

our last stop was the medium security where we will actually had an interaction with the inmates (the prisoners, i stopped calling them "prisoners" at this point of the trip). but before i further elaborate on what transpired during the interaction, i just have to write what had happened to our class right before we went inside the medium security.

okay. so we were in the bus and our professor told us to stay inside the bus, being the very bibbo and obedient class that we are, we stayed inside, 15 mins had passed, we stayed inside,30, we stayed,45, still inside, an hour, we remained, an hour and thirty, we were still there. we were inside the bus, hungry and getting restless. im not sure if we reached the two hour mark because i lost count after an hour and thirty. anyway. after waiting for so long, charles decided to go inside the medium security to look for our prof to ask what we should do already, well, lo and behold, our prof forgot us. (she said she was sorry already so, no prob maam. bawi naman sa yosi eh wink wink hehe) the truth is, our time spent inside the bus was a great moment, it actually bonded the class, so...its all good.

after the long uneccessary wait, we finally went inside the medium security and i was assigned an innmate. kuya junior was my inmate but our interaction was joined ny two of my blockmates and the inmate assigned to them. i remember when i entered the visitation area, i was holdin on to ken's back pack so tight because i was so nervous (it was a prison for god sakes...). the guard told me to follow him, so i did, i was wondering why i wasnt assigned an innmate when i entered because all the others before me was assigned an inmate as they entered the visitation area. the guard led me outside the visitation area and i got do nervous i went back inside still claspping on ken's back pack, the guard looked at me and told me to follow him because he was my inmate. huh? i got so confused he later told me that the inmates like him(ex-military or ex-serviced men) are given duties inside if they volunteer for it, i felt so stupid.

the first thing i asked the inmates that was with us was, ofcourse, what was the reason why thy're in there. kuya junior and the other (i forgot his name,sorry) is in because they killed a civilian while on duty. the other one was in for hazing (and killing) a lower class man in PMA. my next question was a question that i just had to ask fromt he moment i saw the tennis court. i asked the inmates why they had those recreational things (yes, as i look back, it was kinda mean). simple, they told me, it was for correctional use. you see, bilibid is not a place where the state keeps outlaws and just let them rott inside, bilibid is an institute where these lost individual are being helped to go back to the right path. bilibid is a correctional institute not really a prison ( as in movie prison). i felt more stupid after hearing this.

after the interaction, the inmates had a small production for us, they sang, they actualy have a choir, and it was good. they danced, and they were great, they also had a skit, which was really funny. i can actually see the happiness and the fulfillment in there eyes when they were having the production. this was the turning moment. these people should be given second chances, just like all of us. after they pay the price of there mistake, they should be accepted once again in the society like normal human beings. people make mistakes, we all do, so why treat them differently or look at them like they're such a disgrace?

it was already dark when we got back in ust. as we alighted the bus we gave each other a short hug and a beso for the girls. it was a great day.

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im in the process of deconstruction
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special mention: KIM! ehehhehe! just tell him u have a gift for him! luv u dear.
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merry christmas?