Puerto Princesa City, Palawan - A priest in Palawan province is now seeking donations to rebuild the Catholic chapel at the Iwahig Prison and Penal Farm (IPPF), the country's oldest and largest prison with bars.
In the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) website said Fr. Nelson Pagayona, the prison chaplain wants to rebuild the prison chapel that was built in the 1960s.
Pagayona said that when the chapel was first built, there were only 60 prisoners, 12 employees and 31 family members in the colony.
"Since then the chapel has fallen into a state of serious disrepair and now in urgent need of renovation, not least in order to accommodate a much larger prison community," said Pagayona.
Iwahig is an open prison where prisoners cultivate farm occupying 26,629 hectares. Originally 41,007, hectares, but 14,377 hectares were disposed by virtue of presidential proclamations.
Despite the fact that most of the 2,300 inmates have been convicted of homicide, the majority are minimum security prisoners and are thus not locked up within the colony.
Instead, these minimum security inmates live in dormitories and work on one of the many agricultural projects located within the prison farm.
The prisoners live in small settlements and can receive visits from their families, said Pagayona.
He said the prison chapel is a very important element satisfying the spiritual needs of the prisoners and in promoting a spirit of peaceful coexistence among themselves. - Philippine News Agency
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