Equal treatment of city’s former PDLs, pushed

Mayor Benjamin Magalong has signed city council resolution no. 555, series of 2021, providing/according equal protection, fair treatment, and equal opportunities for employment and livelihood to qualified former persons deprived of liberty (PDLs) who are bonafide residents of the Summer Capital.

The measure states that the 1987 Constitution’s Bill of Rights declares that, “No person shall be deprived of life, liberty or property without due process  of law, nor shall any person be denied the equal protection of laws.”

Also, “The State shall afford full protection of labor, local and overseas, organized and unorganized, and promote full employment and equality of employment opportunities for all.”

The community, recognized as among the pillars of the Criminal Justice System in the Philippines, plays a crucial role in the reintegration of former PDLs into the mainstream of society by equally assimilating them in employment and other life-sustaining activities, the resolution states.

“Former PDLs often experience discrimination in terms of livelihood and employment and other related opportunities and activities in the community.  They have struggles in seeking employment and other decent occupation due to various kinds of discrimination that sometimes pull them back to their old activities,” the resolution states.

The measure adds, “It is right and just to provide proper attention to former PDLs for new hope and better opportunities for themselves and their families.”- Gaby B. Keith