When a Visit Becomes a Homecoming: OPLAN DALAW CIW 2026

On August 25, 2026, the Correctional Institute for Women became a place of homecoming.

For many of us, visiting a loved one may seem like an ordinary part of family life. We make plans, travel, sit together, share a meal, exchange stories, and go home knowing that we will see each other again.

But for Persons Deprived of Liberty, a family visit can feel like a distant dream.

This is the heart of OPLAN DALAW, an annual initiative of the Philippine Jesuit Prison Service Foundation, Inc. (PJPS) that seeks to reconnect PDLs with families who have not been able to visit them for many years.

This year, with the help of the Bureau of Corrections, PJPS identified three PDLs whose families had been separated from them for a decade or more. Their families came from Cebu City, Lapu-Lapu City, and Talisay City, carrying with them years of longing, unanswered questions, and memories of loved ones they had not seen for so long.

One family traveled from Lapu-Lapu City, with roots in Marawi City, to finally see their mother after 19 years of separation.

Another family from Talisay, Cebu, traveled to be reunited with a mother from Sultan Kudarat after 13 years without seeing her only child.

Another family from Talisay also experienced the joy of reconnecting after 10 years apart.

Behind these numbers are people.

A mother waiting.

A child longing for an embrace.

A family carrying years of silence.

And a simple visit that suddenly becomes a moment of healing.

For these families, the distance was not simply measured in kilometers. It was measured in years.

The desire to visit their loved ones was there, but the cost of transportation, accommodation, and food could make such a journey difficult.

This is where generosity became part of the story.

PAL Foundation supported OPLAN DALAW by providing discounted airfare and the lowest possible fare to help the families travel and visit their incarcerated loved ones. Generous private individuals also extended financial assistance, choosing to remain anonymous.

Because of their kindness, the families were given support for their transportation, accommodation, and meals.

What they provided was more than financial assistance.

They helped make a reunion possible.

They helped turn longing into presence.

They helped a family say, once again, “Nandito ako.”

In prison ministry, we are constantly reminded that a person must never be reduced to the circumstances of their imprisonment.

Every PDL remains a person with a name, a family, a story, a history, and a capacity for change.

Family connection can be an important part of that journey.

A visit does not erase the past. It does not change the realities that families have endured. But it can remind a person that they are still loved, still remembered, and still worthy of human connection.

Sometimes, hope begins with something as simple as someone showing up.

OPLAN DALAW is a reminder that compassion does not always have to be grand.

Sometimes, compassion looks like an airplane ticket.

Sometimes, it looks like a long journey from another city.

Sometimes, it looks like sitting across from a loved one after many years and simply being together.

And sometimes, it is the quiet realization that despite the years and the distance, family has not forgotten.

For PJPS, OPLAN DALAW is more than an annual activity.

It is an expression of our mission to accompany persons deprived of liberty with dignity, compassion, and hope. #AMDG