In partnership with the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP) launched the “Read Your Way Out: Advancing Prison Reform through Libraries for Lifelong Learning in Places of Detention” project at Monet Ballroom, Novotel Manila, Araneta City in Quezon City on March 14, 2023.The project will support the creation of new jail libraries and the provision of books and equipment, with the overall aim to provide learning opportunities for personal development, well-being and rehabilitation of persons deprived of liberty (PDL). The project also plans to incorporate reading activities as one of the options for PDL to earn Time Allowance for Study, Teaching, and Mentoring (TASTM). Jail libraries’ books shall be composed of 20% legal resources, 30% vocational resources, 40% fiction and non-fiction, and 10% children’s volumes for family visitors. Shown during the launching are (left to right) National Library of the Philippines Director Cesar Gilbert Adriano, UNODC Philippines Head Olivier Lermet, DILG Undersecretary for Public Safety Serafin Barretto Jr., BJMP Chief Director Allan Iral, and Supreme Court Senior Chief Staff Officer Atty. Joyce Jazmin Dimaisip-Cunanan. (Benjie J. Murillo / BJMP Photo)