Kara David, bumisita muli sa ‘Dorm 12’ ng women’s correctional | I-Witness - video Dailymotion

GMA Public Affairs

Nang lumaya si Lola Petra noong 2015, sunod-sunod na raw ang mga matatandang person deprived of liberty (PDL) ang pinalaya at nabigyan ng parole. Pero may iilan din na hindi pa nabibigyan ng kalayaan. Ang tanging hiling nila ay ang pag-asa na makalaya sila at makapiling muli ang kanilang pamilya.  Panoorin ang ‘Lola sa Laya,’ dokumentaryo ni Kara David, sa #IWitness.

Transcript

00:00Ten years have passed.

00:04Hello, good morning.

00:20On my way back to the Correctional.

00:23This is Dorm 12.

00:24Yeah.

00:26Hello.

00:27I know this person.

00:28I know this person.

00:29I know you.

00:30Hey, I know you.

00:32I was embraced by familiar faces.

00:36I'm so happy for you.

00:41Hey, I know you.

00:42I'm free now.

00:43Hey, I remember you.

00:45Yes, ma'am.

00:46We even danced together.

00:51Dorm 12 is new.

00:53It's Disney Princess now.

00:56Good morning.

00:57But it's still dark.

00:58I know you.

01:00Reunion, reunion.

01:02But your hair is white now.

01:05Of course, I'm a senior now.

01:06I'm a senior now.

01:08You don't look like a senior when we met.

01:12Your hair is white now.

01:13I hope you'll be free.

01:15I'm almost free.

01:16You're almost free.

01:18Dorm 12's interior is almost unchanged.

01:21Dorm 12.

01:25But only a few of the original grandmothers I've seen are here.

01:31Many are already released.

01:34But some were also sentenced to death in prison.

01:38Are you Grandma Rose?

01:39Yes, I am.

01:40Grandma Rose is already dead.

01:42Tita Rose Mendoza.

01:43Yes, Tita Rose Mendoza.

01:44What happened to her?

01:46She's old.

01:48Did her son bring her back?

01:50No, I don't think so.

01:51No?

01:52Ederlina was one of Grandma Rose's last companions before she passed away.

01:59Until the last moment of Grandma Rose,

02:03the prison guards and jail guards took care of the old woman.

02:07When Tita Rose got sick,

02:11because she was being chased,

02:13we brought her to the infirmary.

02:16We took care of her,

02:19but she suddenly died.

02:24She died?

02:25Yes.

02:26Where did she die?

02:28A brother took her.

02:30A brother or a child?

02:31A child.

02:32A child or a relative of a child

02:36who was traced by the C.I.W.

02:39They took her to the hospital.

02:46Until her last breath,

02:48she did not see her family.

02:53This is the reality inside the prison.

02:57There are old people who are no longer visited by their loved ones.

03:03But they continue to hold on to hope.

03:07Their hearts grow stronger whenever one of them is released.

03:12I will show you my grandmother.

03:16She is now 100 years old.

03:21She is still alive.

03:22She is strong.

03:27There she is.

03:31She is strong.

03:33There she is.

03:35She is strong.

03:37She is 100 years old.

03:40She is our strength.

03:42She is our strength.

03:44She is strong.

03:45She is still alive.

03:47We can do this.

03:50We can do this.

03:53When Grandmother Petra was released in 2015,

03:56many grandmothers were released and given parole.

04:00But not all of them were granted freedom.

04:05Chato was in prison for three decades.

04:08She was only 30 years old when she was released.

04:12Her hair was already white inside.

04:15She was released one by one.

04:17From Grandmother Petra.

04:19She was released one by one.

04:21And my brothers, five of them.

04:23They were released in 1995.

04:25You were the only ones left.

04:26I was the only one left.

04:29Chato is now the longest in prison in Dorm 12.

04:34Sometimes she thinks,

04:36there is still freedom waiting for her.

04:39The other day, when someone was released,

04:41I was so happy.

04:42I said, Lord, thank you.

04:44But in 2023, I was sad.

04:47I was crying.

04:48I was crying.

04:49I didn't show it to them.

04:51I was crying because I was envious.

04:54Because I wanted to be free when I have the strength

04:57to be with my children.

05:00According to the Correctional Institution for Women,

05:03there are about 555 elderly prisoners here.

05:09Most of them are between the ages of 60 and 70,

05:13including those like Chato.

05:16Once upon a time,

05:17a resolution was issued by the Department of Justice

05:20regarding the elderly prisoners.

05:23According to the new legislation,

05:25when a prisoner reaches the age of 70,

05:29and has served her sentence for 10 years,

05:34she can be released under the process of parole

05:38or executive clemency.

05:42And because of this,

05:44people like Chato continue to rely on hope.

05:49Thank God, I still have strength.

05:51I can still carry my grandchildren.

05:54I can still help my children.

05:56And with God's help,

05:57I will still continue to worship God.

05:59This is a continuous change in life.

Kara David, bumisita muli sa ‘Dorm 12’ ng women’s correctional | I-Witness

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