PHILIPPINES
Rebuilding broken lives
Mario Algayda, who was convicted of robbery at the age of nine and thrown in jail along with 21 adult criminals, was a walking wounded who would have ordinarily gravitated to a life of crime. But everything changed when he entered Bahay Pagasa (House of Hope), established through the initiative of Bro. Gus Boquer, president of De La Salle Dasmariñas (Cavite).
Fast-forward to the moment that Brother Gus presented to the board members of the PLDT Smart Foundation his proposal to set up a Bahay Pagasa juvenile-rehabilitation center inside the campus of De La Salle Dasmariñas. The case of Mario and others like him so moved the group, led by chairman Manuel Pangilinan, that they unanimously approved the proposal and allocated a P10-million start-up fund for its construction. This will be the first of its kind in Luzon, the first Bahay Pagasa having been setup by Brother Gus in Bacolod City six years ago.
Juvenile rehabilitation is a long-neglected area and we are determined to help and change the lives of these young people, said Pangilinan. Bahay Pagasa and the story of Mario and how his life has been dramatically changed will be shown on ANCs Storyline this Friday at 6 pm, with replays at 11 pm, and Sunday at 3 pm.
Storyline, for its part, launches its third season in partnership with the leading telecommunications service provider in the Philippines, PLDT. We are partnering with PLDT to tell the story of people who have gone through great lengths not just to communicate but to make a difference, explained Pat Evangelista, executive producer of the current-affairs program. The stories include Dr. Josette Biyo, the first Asian winner of the Intel Excellence Teaching Award in 2002, whose resourcefulness and commitment to education led to an extraordinary honor: a minor planet named after the teacher who dreamed of stars. They also include visually impaired Roselle Ambubuyog, who graduated summa cum laude from Ateneo de Manila University. The show is directed by Paolo Villaluna (Selda, Ilusyon).
The story of Mario opens the third season of Storyline under the theme Justice. The Bahay Pagasa project is a juvenile-rehabilitation center for children-in-conflict-with-the-law or those who are minor offenders. There are young boys who have run afoul with the law who are dumped together with hardened criminals because there is no separate place for them in jail, explained Brother Gus. These boys, he added, become bitter and feel that there is no future for them anymore. But Bahay Pagasa aims to give them a place where they are taken care of and rehabilitated pending the resolution of their case. It is a sanctuary, not a punitive center but a transformation center, said Brother Gus.
It is the vision of the PLDT Smart Foundation to build one similar sanctuary for the youth each year until all regions are covered. Given this enormous task of shepherding the countrys wayward youth into productive and meaningful lives, the foundation has linked up with other concerned groups and agencies to form an advisory group. There is an urgent need to address this problem because the juvenile delinquents of today could become the hardened criminals of tomorrow, ended Brother Gus.
Peachy Vibal-Guioguio
12 February 2009
