“The management of the San Andres District Jail in Catanduanes is intensifying the Green Program of the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP) by planting basic vegetables in vacant spaces within the compound.
According to Jail Inspector Javier C. Kallos, the warden of the said prison, planting plants is an alternative investment method for their Persons Deprived of Liberty (PDLs) to meet their financial needs while incarcerated. Kallos also said that small spaces are a hindrance in prisons, but the San Andres DJ has been given a large lot by the local government to build a more comfortable detention center.
Aside from this, planting in these vacant spaces is better to provide PDLs with their daily food needs and to sell to the market. The said warden has a background in backyard farming, so he shares this knowledge with the PDLs and personnel.
Meanwhile, among the vegetables that the San Andres BJMP inmates plant are beans, squash, cabbage, Chinese cabbage, eggplant, bitter gourd, white gourd, tomato, and others. The official encouraged the public to plant in their backyards because vegetable seeds in the nursery of the town are free.”
