{"id":3075,"date":"2013-07-25T11:57:18","date_gmt":"2013-07-25T15:57:18","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.thetravellingfool.com\/?p=3075"},"modified":"2015-04-12T20:21:16","modified_gmt":"2015-04-13T00:21:16","slug":"welcome-to-prison","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thetravellingfool.com\/welcome-to-prison\/","title":{"rendered":"Welcome to Prison"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Iwahig<\/h1>\n

Welcome to prison. That\u2019s not the first thing you expect to see arriving at a prison but that is the sign that will greet you driving up to the gates of the Iwahig Prison and Penal Farm in Palawan.<\/strong><\/span><\/h1>\n

On the island of Palawan in the Philippines approximately 10-12 km outside of Puerto Princesa<\/a><\/strong><\/em>, the Iwahig Prison is known as the prison without walls. The name is a little misleading since there are both a medium and maximum security areas within the prison grounds.<\/p>\n

Arriving at the prison I was stopped by a man wearing jeans and a shirt. My driver tells me he is a prisoner. You have to have permission to enter the prison and you are supposed to be visiting a prisoner or have other business to get in. My driver knows one the prisoners and tells the guy at the gate we are here to see him. The prisoner we are supposed to be visiting is a former Philippine Police Officer that is in prison for murder. After the man clears us with the prison guards at the gate we enter the grounds.<\/p>\n

\"Iwahig<\/p>\n

Once cleared, we begin driving down a dirt road with rice paddies on both sides. To the right 200-300 yards away I see a compound with a sign saying Minimum Security. A little further down the road I see houses and my driver tells me that they are for the prison staff and their families.<\/p>\n

\"Iwahig<\/p>\n

About \u00be of a mile from the front gate we come to the main prison compound. It resembles an old military compound with white administrative buildings laid out in a square, manicured patches of grass and a large area that could be used as a parade field.<\/p>\n

\"Iwahig<\/p>\n

The main place most visitors see is the Gift shop. On the second floor of an old wooden structure built in the 1920\u2019s an array of goods are laid out. Prisoners run the gift shop and when I arrive I am greeted by one. I won\u2019t give his name but he tells me he is from Baguio and has been a prisoner at the facility for 26 years. He gives me the rules which are no photos of the prisoner\u2019s faces and I can visit the gift shop and main grounds. Not one to always abide by the rules I snapped a few shots while there.<\/p>\n

\"Iwahig
My prisoner salesman<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The prisoners in Minimum Security work in the fields tending crops, man the Gift Shop and Commissary and are allowed to walk freely around the prison.<\/p>\n

\"Iwahig
Minimum Security prisoners walking in the compound<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

My prison salesman tells me he is in Iwahig Prison<\/a> for drug related charges and says he was a student when arrested and although he only used drugs twice he was arrested and convicted of possession and sale of drugs. He tells me he thinks since he had no money to defend himself maybe the drug syndicate set him up for the drug sales charges. Now I have been around for a while and know you have to take things with a grain of truth but he does sound convincing. He also tells me everything for sale at the gift shop has been made by prisoners so they can earn a little money.<\/p>\n

Strike one for my salesman since everything looks mass produced and as I learn a few days later, everything for sale here is also for sale at the wholesale souvenir shop in Puerto Princesa. The boats that are painstakingly hand carved and bracelets made by prisoners are in fact nothing more than tourist souvenirs<\/a><\/em> that can be bought for a cheaper price in town.
\n