Manila City Jail Warden JSupt. Marisol Vocal-Vitor and JO3 Enrico Velasquez (4th nd 5th from left, respectively) together with the PCCR Contingent
Leadership and Excellence, among all the other Core Values of the Philippine College of Criminology (PCCR), are marks of a Batang 641, regardless of gender, race, or creed. This is evident in the person of JSupt. Mirasol Vocal-Vitor (BS Crim 1993), Warden of the historic “Old Bilibid Prison”, the Manila City Jail. She is also the first female Batang 641 graduate of the Philippine National Police Academy (PNPA, Class of 1997). Despite her reputation as a tough-as-nails administrator, Warden Mirasol also has a soft spot for her wards at the city jail.
In her 28 years of service at the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP), Warden Mirasol has displayed all the traits of a true Batang 641. On top of her Leadership Skills and Quality Excellence, her Heart of Service and Empathy combined with Discipline and Integrity of Character are evident in her words and actions. Having renamed the renowned jail as a Center for Character Development, the residents of Manila’s oldest incarceration facility are given the dignity they deserve.
Though a strict disciplinarian, she also makes sure to exhaust all means to transform the lives of her inmates, or Persons Deprived of Liberty (PDLs). Her ongoing PDL Restoration and Education Program, or PREP, highlights Values Formation and Culture Change as among its effective tools. She believes that the family, as the basic unit of society, is also the root cause of their stay at the jail. She hopes that by penetrating and communicating with their families, PDLs may experience true reform and transformation upon their release. During their stay at the jail, PDLs are treated more humanely, opening all channels of communication toward true reform.
Under the same program, in cooperation with educational institutions such as PCCR, Warden Marisol hopes that her VISA Inmates – Visitorless, Indigent, Sick, and Aged – will be adopted and be better cared for.
Her staff also attest to her transformational and effective leadership. Her battlecry toward efficiency in Manila City Jail is Teamwork and Delegation. She believes that everyone has a strong suit, and she uses these for the betterment of the organization as a whole. For those under her that have not come out of their novice shell, Warden Mirasol provides proper avenues to improve and enhance their skills.
Supporting and amplifying the positive effects of her initiatives in the Manila City Jail is fellow BJMP Batang 641 JO3 Enrico Velasquez (BS Crim 2002). Assigned as the city jail’s Intelligence and Investigation Officer, Velasquez focuses on information gathering and preventing any untoward incidents inside the jail. He plays a key role in maintaining the peace inside the premises, preventing the escalation of any event into chaos and melee.
In collaboration and coordination with the Office of Alumni Affairs (ALU), through the efforts of ALU Head Joaquin De Castro II and ALU Officer Dennis Rivera, both Warden Mirasol and JO3 Velasquez will be sharing their expertise and experience with the Batang 641 Community in the regular online talk show, Kapihan sa 641. Here, they will talk about their role in jail management and The Manila City Jail, and share how their lives were transformed and made better because of their memorable experience at PCCR.