SUBIC BAY FREEPORT—The Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) and the Parole and Probation Administration recently signed a Memorandum of Agreement that supports the reintegration of probationers, parolees, and pardonees into the workplace.
The MOA was signed between SBMA Chairman and Administrator Eduardo Jose L. Aliño and PPA Administrator, lawyer Bienvenido O. Benitez Jr., at the SBMA Corporate Boardroom.
According to Aliño, the workplace reintegration program is a silver lining for former persons deprived of liberty (PDLs).
“If you are a parolee, probationer, or pardonee, people will tend to look down on you because of the social stigma from your past actions. I honestly think though, that they should not be denied their right to work and provide financial support to their families,” he said.
Aliño added that this stigma has hindered most of the aforementioned from reintegrating into a workplace, as they are usually shunned by companies due to their past records.
Meanwhile, Benitez expressed his gratitude to the SBMA for supporting the PPA’s workplace reintegration program, as the agency is the first among the government-owned and controlled corporations (GOCCs) that supported the project.
According to the general conditions of the agreement, the SBMA and the PPA will jointly develop a workplace reintegration program that specifies its objectives and includes a register of the knowledge, skills, and competencies that these clients already have or acquired for skills-matching.
The SBMA and the PPA will jointly monitor and evaluate the workplace reintegration program.
The agreement also states that the supposed employment shall not constitute an employee-employer relationship between the SBMA and the clients, but shall be a partnership or joint venture between the agency and the PPA, even beyond the scope of the agreement.
Additionally, the clients will be personally responsible for any and all liabilities, injury to his/ herself or to property/ies or persons attributable to his/ her own fault or negligence during employment.
SBMA Senior Deputy Administrator for Support Services, lawyer Ramon O. Agregado, has since said that the agency is more than willing to help these clients get back into the workplace, adding that providing equal employment opportunities for them would be an honorable undertaking for the agency.
“For our part, we will facilitate the endorsement of potential and qualified clients through a Register of Eligibles (ROEs) to Subic Bay Freeport Zone locator-companies under the Workplace Reintegration Program,” he said.
He added that the SBMA will provide a quarterly update to the PPA on the program, coordinating and working closely with the administration in order to provide the needed support to achieve the MOA’s objectives.
According to Benitez, the PPA also plans to propose the program to Clark Development Corporation (CDC) and John Hay Management Corporation (JHMC).
Editor’s Note: This is an updated article. Originally posted with the headline SBMA pioneers workplace reintegration of probationers, parolees, pardonees