As fireworks explode to mark the New Year beyond prison walls, a quieter transition is taking place inside facilities across the Philippines. Prisoners long separated from families and facing uncertain futures are discovering an unexpected path toward early release.
Key to this transformation are two interrelated initiatives supported by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) in partnership with the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP): the Read Your Way Out programme and the Good Conduct Time Allowance Calculator.
Read Your Way Out (RYWO) began as a modest UNODC library project in 2022, eventually evolving into a fully institutionalized program that links structured reading sessions directly to sentence reduction. Prisoners who engage in supervised reading, book clubs, group discussions and artistic interpretations of storybooks can now earn time allowances to facilitate early release.
The program has high-level support. BJMP Chief Jail Director Ruel S. Rivera reflects: "Read Your Way Out assists Persons Deprived of Liberty in rediscovering the transformational power of education and introspection. This not only expedites their release but also prepares them for successful reintegration into society.”
The initiative includes 13 new libraries stocked with curated collections. It represents a tangible shift in correctional philosophy: prison as a place for education and self-improvement with a view to reintegration, not just confinement.
Implementing RYWO was not without its challenges. As it was a new concept, officers needed to be trained to understand and deliver the program. Skepticism among prisoners was common at first.
Senior Jail Officer Archelie R. Tarucan, Library-in-Charge and Alternative Learning System Facilitator, worked patiently to motivate prisoners.
“At first, many prisoners doubted that reading could impact their release. But over time, more of them joined the program.”
By engaging in library activities, prisoners can earn up to 15 days of credits every month, reducing their sentences.
Tarucan worked to maximize the impact of the time prisoners spent reading and to engage even those with no or limited literacy. “We look at what their needs are when it comes to learning. We have seen here in the prison that we have many prisoners who cannot read and write, so we took time to teach them. When they were able to read and write, they saw the importance of this program.”
In addition to staff support, the initiative offers a reading buddy program wherein literate prisoners read to and teach others who cannot read. Both earn time allowances.
Tarucan recalls the joy shared by prisoner families upon their loved ones’ unexpected early release. “It felt like a small thing—teaching them to read—but it had a life-changing impact.”
One of the people who has benefited from the program is Winifred, who was until recently a prisoner at Zamboanga City Jail. “When I was in prison, I used to think about my family all the time,” he says. “I missed my family, my friends.”
But today, after taking part in Read Your Way Out, he is one of the first four prisoners who has been released early. He is not only free but has found employment at a beauty salon. He can now contribute to his family’s well-being, grateful for the educational lifeline that paved his path to freedom.
Jsupt Xavier Awican Solda, Warden at Zamboanga City Jail, has seen Winifred’s transformation – and many others like it – first hand. “UNODC’s RYWO program is one of the most impactful programs we are implementing in the unit. To be released early through participation in educational programs is a meaningful gift toward starting a new life.
“What is more beautiful than regaining your freedom as a changed person through reading?”
While RYWO provides the content and motivation for positive behavioral change, the UNODC-developed Good Conduct Time Allowance (GCTA) Calculator offers a critical technical component to the equation, as it establishes a clear link between time allowances earned through reading and an early release date. By accurately computing time served and time allowances earned through good conduct and educational engagement, the calculator ensures that prisoners who qualify for early release are identified and released on time. This approach illustrates how humanitarian values, policy reforms and technological tools can converge to create meaningful change.
The GCTA Calculator was first piloted in the Zamboanga City Jail in December 2024, and region-wide implementation throughout the Zamboanga peninsula is now in the works. Once adopted nationwide, the GCTA Calculator will streamline processes and enhance transparency in computing release dates, contributing to bolstering the credibility of the country’s criminal justice system.
It will also allow the expansion of the safe early release of prisoners, helping to address the severe overcrowding facing prisons in the Philippines. Overcrowding is arguably the most serious and urgent challenge facing prisons across the globe, and UNODC-supported decongestion initiatives like the GCTA Calculator offer opportunities to improve prisoner wellbeing, safety and security worldwide.
“These initiatives are testaments to the BJMP's commitment to fostering meaningful rehabilitation and reintegration,” Jail Chief Rivera reflects. His words underline the quiet revolution in correctional policy in the Philippines — to one that values human dignity and invests in prisoners’ futures as full members of the community.
For those like Warden Solda who work in the prison system, the transformation is palpable: “At work, we are not just prison officers. We are caregivers, reformers and duty-bearers. We must ensure that the rights of persons under our care are protected and that they are provided every opportunity for reintegration into society as reformed and productive citizens.”
As we enter the New Year and families reunite, there is renewed hope and possibility. With the right tools, education and support, combined with their own will to change, prisoners can carve out new beginnings and reshape their futures.
The way we treat prisoners is key in making our communities safer and protecting human rights for all. UNODC works with over 50 Member States worldwide to advance non-custodial measures, improve prison management and conditions, and support social reintegration. Find out more.
Find out more about UNODC’s work relating to penal and prison reform in the Philippines: