OFFENDER’S LIFE IN SOCIETY: A STIGMA TOWARDS RE-CONFINEMENT
Being stigmatized by members of society due to previous criminal conviction and incarceration may bring
negative feelings or experiences that would lead to social exclusion that make life in the mainstream of society
very hard for ex-convicts. This study analyzed the factors affecting the cause of reoffending among ex-convicts
who happen to have committed a subsequent crime after release from institutional confinement. Five (5) repeat
offenders who are currently detained in the Cagayan Provincial Jail and Tuguegarao city District Jail were
considered as participants of this study who were subjected to interview. The hermeneutical phenomenology was
utilized to describe and interpret the meanings of the phenomena of their personal experiences during the period
between their institutional confinements. The experience of the ex-convict with the people around them such as
family members, neighbors, friends, peers and local authorities, generally revealed the experience of rejection,
cynicism, detachment, doubts and distrust. The negative or unfriendly encounters due to stigma of a previous
criminal record surfaced as a secondary reason towards reoffending while peer influence was found as the most
significant factor that influenced these ex-convict’s towards the commission of a subsequent crime. Re-entry
partnership with various sectors of the community through Faith-Based and Community Initiatives should form
part of the programs of the Philippine Criminal Justice system while the Department of Labor and Employment
should be actively involved in providing integrated livelihood and emergency employment for these ex-convicts.
ex-convict; repeat offender; stigma; social exclusion; re-confinement.