Daily Tribune‘We first equip ourselves so we can, in turn, empower our PDL to rise with knowledge and livelihood.’
ILIGAN City Jail staff learn how to make and bake cinnamon roll.
PHOTOGRAPH COURTESY OF PILMICO
From 2 to 4 July 2026, personnel of both the male and female dormitories of Iligan City Jail (ICJ) immersed themselves in baking pastry.
The training was organized by MSU–Iligan Institute of Technology’s extension arm, WE CARE, in partnership with PILMICO. The sessions combined theory and practice — from flour identification to hands-on baking of malunggay bread, cinnamon rolls, coffee rotti, cakes and cookies.
The initiative reflects a shared commitment. WE CARE and PILMICO brought expertise and resources, while jail personnel brought dedication and vision. Together, they laid the foundation for sustainable livelihood skills that uplift both staff and persons deprived of liberty (PDLs).
The jail’s existing bakery managed by PDL and equipped through the Department of Science and Technology’s “Community Empowerment Through Science and Technology” program already caters to the bread needs of the facility. But the vision stretches further. With the planned “Bread on Wheels” project, to be supported by the local government unit of Iligan, the facility hopes to expand its reach — bringing bread, and the story of transformation, into the wider community.
JO3 Walter W. Mainit Jr., chief of the Welfare and Development Section of ICJ, captured the spirit of the program with words that resonated deeply.
“We cannot give what we do not have. That is why we first equip ourselves — so we can, in turn, empower our PDL to rise with knowledge and livelihood.”
City Jail Warden JCINSP Carmelo A. Corsame underscored the broader meaning of the project.
“Aside from baking, the activity is about building capacity, instilling dignity, and creating opportunities that extend beyond the jail walls,” he said.
In the aroma of freshly baked bread and the rhythm of kneading hands, the partnership of MSU–IIT WE CARE and PILMICO has sparked a journey of empowerment — one where every loaf becomes a symbol of hope, skill and reintegration.
