Carlo Mercedez works, like many people, behind a computer in this simple office for 8 hours a day – Monday to Friday. “Then I get weekends off to spend time with my family,” says Carlo. The only thing is that Carlo is a prisoner, who is serving 30 years. “At 6 in the morning we have head count, then we go back to prepare to go to the office at 8am. We go home at 12noon to have lunch then go back at the office at 1pm. At 4pm, there is another head counting. Then we can go home.” He is one of 3,000 inmates in this unique prison without walls. “I’ve been here in Iwahig for seven years. I don’t know when I will be released but I already served my minimum sentence since 2011.” Carlo’s is finished the minimum of his sentence so he is allowed to live in his own house with his wife and three young children– who go to a school inside the open air prison’s facility. Inmates at Iwahig Prison in Puerto Princesa City, Philippines wait for the flag lowering ceremony. Some of them h...
Welcome to my site. A bit about myself. I’m a professional journalist, academic researcher, and editor with more than two decades of experience in multimedia work. I'm also a serious photography hobbyist whose interests range from travel to portrait images. I hope you enjoy reading my stories and looking at the photos I have taken while jogging, walking around cities and villages or just when I'm gardening. :)