John Sibal, chief officer of the Dasmariñas Municipal Jail, does not have an easy job. Working in a system where criminals are considered lifelong derelicts, Officer Sibal sees things differently.
John Sibal, chief officer of the Dasmariñas Municipal Jail, does not have an easy job. Working in a system where criminals are considered lifelong derelicts, Officer Sibal sees things differently.
“You don’t have to treat them like criminals,” he says. “You have to rehabilitate them, but the government is not that concerned . . . that’s why we are so dependent upon [nongovernmental organizations] and religious groups.”
Ten years ago Sibal joined the Philippine’s Bureau of Jail Management and Penology because he thought he could “do some humanitarian work.” He now serves as chief officer in a jail that holds a variety of offenders, ranging from those who have committed petty crimes such as cell phone snatching, to capital offenses, including murder. The oldest offender is 85 years old, the youngest just 14.
Looking for opportunities to rehabilitate these offenders, Sibal was delighted when the prison ministry team from the Adventist International Institute of Advanced Studies (AIIAS) offered to present a 15-day “Happy Living Crusade” at the jail.
“There is a big difference with the AIIAS group,” says Sibal. “Other groups only come for special occasions, but AIIAS comes here regularly, and in addition to helping with spiritual needs they help with personal needs as well.”
The AIIAS prison ministry team, consisting of 10 to 15 students and staff, has been active at the Dasmariñas Municipal Jail for several years. In addition to holding weekly worship services on Saturday or Sabbath, the ministry has also constructed a new building for the jail, helping to relieve overcrowding. The ministry also provided medicine to help the many detainees who were suffering from skin problems.
The idea to hold a full evangelistic series at the jail came when the team sensed the time was right.
“During the Sabbath services we were going through the church’s Fundamental Beliefs, and when we saw their keen interest, we obtained permission to hold a crusade inside the jail,” says Dr. Paoring Ragui, vice president for Student Services and Public Relations at AIIAS and sponsor of the prison ministry group. It was the first evangelistic series to be held at the jail.
During the 15-day “Happy Living Crusade,” approximately 250 of the 370 incarcerated men, women and young people crowded into the jail’s meeting room to join in the singing, sharing and prayer time and to hear the health lectures presented by AIIAS master of public health students. Spiritual presentations featured the theme “With Jesus” and were presented by Dr. Ragui and Pastor Gene Villanueva, a Filipino pastor and doctoral student at AIIAS. Wanting to integrate with the local Adventist church, the team also invited the youth group from the Dasmariñas Seventh-day Adventist Church to lead out in the singing.
At the end of the crusade on March 25, 151 detainees of the Dasmariñas Municipal Jail decided to accept Jesus and were baptized in large barrels obtained for the service. Each baptismal candidate received a new Bible, and special vegeburger lunches were provided for all prisoners.
Evelyn, 39, was one prisoner who found new life in Christ. Held on drug-related charges and missing her 5-year-old daughter, Evelyn was ready to commit suicide when she first arrived at the jail.
“Life was full of pain, full of problems,” she said. “I was really thinking of committing suicide, until I met the people from AIIAS. When I met them, I started to know things better, to think right. I learned that this is not the end. They changed the way I think.”
Richard, 17, is one of the youngest detainees. Being held on petty theft charges, he wanted to change his life and was baptized. “I want to be near God,” he says. “I know He can change my life. Now I am reading the Bible, and I know how to pray. My life has changed a lot.”
Officer Sibal has noticed the difference in the lives of those who were baptized. He says, “They have become much more cooperative, they are part of their [own] recovery. They realize their mistakes.”
Dr. Ragui and the prison ministry team are planning a systematic follow-up to the crusade, involving local churches so that when the prisoners are released they will be able to find a nearby Adventist church. In the meantime, the district pastor and elders have been appointed to serve the new church members, and under the auspices of the AIIAS church, a new “prison church” is being organized, where the newly baptized members will take up leadership positions after further training from the team.
To help with this follow-up and additional training, Ragui, who is currently teaching a class in Pastoral Care and Counseling, is involving his students in the jail ministry. As part of their class work, the students visit with and counsel the newly baptized members at the jail. “I’m hoping that some of these counselees will become leaders in the prison church,” says Ragui.
Gina Wahlen is an assistant professor of research and writing and development officer at the Adventist International Institute of Advanced Studies (AIIAS), an Adventist educational institution located in the Philippines ([url=http://www.aiias.edu]http://www.aiias.edu)[/url].