๐๐๐๐ ๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐ | ๐๐จ ๐๐จ๐ฆ๐๐ง ๐๐๐๐ญ ๐๐๐ก๐ข๐ง๐: ๐๐๐ ๐ฅ๐๐๐๐๐ซ๐ฌ ๐๐ซ๐ข๐ง๐ โ๐๐๐๐๐ฒ๐จ๐ง ๐๐ฎ๐๐ง๐โ ๐ญ๐จ ๐๐๐ ๐ฐ๐จ๐ฆ๐๐ง
by John David Sucayre
Student leaders from the School of Arts and Sciences (SAS) bypassed traditional campus festivities to bring the National Womenโs Month celebration directly to the cells of the local jail through “Padayon Juanaโ at BJMP Cauayan City, March 20.
The initiative originated from a student-led desire to challenge the social stigma that strips Persons Deprived of Liberty (PDL) of their dignity and right to personal growth.
“Yung goals namin is para magbigay ng saya sa mga taong hindi napapansinโฆto break the stereotypes na wala nang karapatan ang mga kababaihan sa loob ng warden,” said SBO Vice President Marknowel Alvarez.
Guest speaker Ruby Joy Ballesteros, a registered pharmacist, delivered a lecture on psychological resilience and spiritual hope to the incarcerated participants.
Ballesteros utilized biblical verses to reinforce the message that life continues and empowerment remains possible even within a wardenโs walls.
The program is structured to redefine empowerment as a collective responsibility, focusing on the capacity to make better decisions for oneโs loved ones even within a wardenโs walls.
Students organizers facilitated games and distribution of supplies to provide a sense of normalcy and joy to the participants.
The interaction aimed to humanize the PDL experience, proving that a woman’s right to “Padayon” or to continue her journey persists despite physical confinement.
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