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IT’S GRADUATION SEASON FOR SCHOOLS ACROSS THE COUNTRY, but this was no ordinary graduation ceremony. And Maguindanao native Bajunaid Kasim, 35, is not your ordinary graduate. Not only did he graduate on top of his class – he did it while serving
reclusion perpetua – the maximum penalty – inside the high risk compound of the New Bilibid Prison (NBP) in Muntinlupa City.
Kasim led the 542 maximum security compound inmates who finished different courses under the Alternative Learning System (ALS) program of the Department of Education (DepEd) this year.
He finished the Accreditation and Equivalency (A&E) program for secondary education, which had 81 graduates.
“I didn’t just improve my writing and reading, this is where I felt like a normal individual,” Kasim said in Filipino following the graduation, which was attended by DepEd Secretary Armin Luistro.
“Even if I am detained, I felt that I can still be a normal person,” he adds.
Kasim – who went to Manila from his home province in 2003 to support their family – was arrested for a drug-related offense in 2006. He was later convicted and sentenced to reclusion perpetua, or at least 30 years in prison after which he becomes eligible for pardon.
“I did not do it intentionally,” Kasim said when asked about the incident that led to his arrest. “We are only human. When we are feeling the pressure of a situation, sometimes we come up with wrong decisions and end up facing its consequences.”
The consequence, for him, is imprisonment for the most of, or even his entire, life.
But instead of dwelling on his past, the class valedictorian would rather look to the future: a future others would think of as a long journey inside a dark tunnel that could very well end in the grave, or – for some, worse – a life in a society that shuns ex-convicts.
This is not the case for Kasim who, despite facing decades of imprisonment, believes that the journey through the tunnel – however long it will be – does not have to be dark and gloomy.
Nor does he think that, if given the opportunity, his life in the outside world will be dictated by the society that failed him in the first place, a fact Luistro himself recognized during his speech at the graduation.
Paying it forward
Armed with knowledge and determination, Kasim wants to pay it forward to his fellow inmates by being an ALS instructor himself.
“I want to share that feeling of knowing that (being in detention) is not the end of the road. That there is still hope, that we can have a better life after (serving our sentence),” he said.
ALS officer-in-charge Eduardo Cabuhat of the NBP maximum security compound says Kasim’s desire to teach fellow inmates is not impossible as there are current instructors who are products of the program themselves.
Already in place for more than a decade, the education program at the maximum security compound has produced thousands of graduates of different technical and vocational programs.
Cabuhat says some of their previous graduates who have already finished serving their sentence would visit the prison to share how the program has changed their lives in the outside world.
For Kasim, helping his fellow inmates is just the start of the journey ahead of him. His ultimate objective: return to Maguindanao and
share the gift of knowledge with the people living in the conflict-ridden province in Southern Philippines.
“I want to be an ALS mobile teacher for the out of school youth (in our province). I want to share my experiences and what I’ve learned here,” he says. “A lot of people there need this… Hopefully, I can continue doing this so that I will be able to inspire other people.”
Kasim is aware of the recent developments in Mamasapano town in his province, and he says he feels helpless that he cannot do anything for his people – for now.
“I just pray for them. I have experienced what they are experiencing right now. I know the feeling of having to transfer from one place to another because of the fighting. It affects the education of the youth,” he said. “But I think the government is doing its best to help those who are affected by the conflict.”
The 35-yearold inmate, who did not finish high school, left his home province when they become orphaned in 2003. Second of six siblings, he said he went to Manila because he needed to provide for his family.
But circumstances forced him to commit what he called bad decisions that led to his arrest.
While in detention at the Muntinlupa City Jail during his trial, Kasim decided to start with the ALS program. He stopped, however, when he was convicted and transferred to the NBP.
“I had to work first,” he said. “But last year I decided to come back and finish it.”
And, this year, he did not just finish the program – he finished it with flying colors.
He did it while still employed at a local bakery, where he gets an allowance of P200 a month.
It is way below what a regular worker in the outside world gets, but he said this is enough to lift the burden for his family to provide him with what he needs while in detention.
At the end of the day, for Kasim, whose favorite subject is algebra, it is still the welfare of his family that weighs on his mind.
Standing up
During his speech, DepEd Secretary Luistro made an emotional apology to the graduates of the ALS program at the NBP.
“I apologize to all of you because society didn’t do enough. Many of you were influenced to walk the wrong path because you were not taken care of by your family, your society and your government,” he said in Filipino.
“Society thinks you did wrong, and you should be jailed. For me, you were the ones who owned up to your mistakes, ready to face your failure and the consequences that go with it,” he added.
The secretary expressed gratitude to the inmates for showing that one can stand up after facing a major challenge in his or her life.
“Thank you for allowing us to listen to your stories,” he said. “Thank you for making us realize that hope and dreams remain even among those who are inside the NBP.”
It would be a long journey for Kasim, but he is firm in his belief that his hopes and dreams will not remain just dreams – he will make them come true.