From serving sentences to serving coffee

Whether it’s hot americanos or iced lattes, Ex-Preso pours more than just coffee— it serves second chances.

This coffee cart in Muntinlupa City is part of an initiative that has been helping former inmates— now called Persons Restored to Liberty (PRLs)— rebuild their lives for over 30 years. 

The project, which is carried out by local nonprofit Philippine Jesuit Prison Service (PJPS), has now trained eight PRLs to not only become baristas, but also to rediscover their worth.

It all started with a surprise donation of a single coffee cart. Opening a café was never part of the plan.

“What we intend is to have a house, to be a formation house for ex-PDLs. A house that will form them into better people,” said Fr. Jun-G Bargayo in an interview with ABS-CBN.

That house became Balaya — from balay (house) and laya (freedom). And from this home, they began serving not just espresso, but redemption.

Because for most of them, life after prison was far harder than life inside. Many had no one waiting for them when they stepped out. Some were disowned by their families. Others left with no change of clothes, no money for food, and no place to sleep on their first night of freedom.

This reveals a painful truth: not all sentences end when the prison doors open. Stigma and shame cling tightly, and without support, PRLs can easily fall back into the same cycle they long to escape.

But behind the cart, there is dignity.

There is healing.

There is a second shot at life — to begin, to belong, and to become.

Now, they have served coffee at the Supreme Court, to celebrities, and even at a family gathering of Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle.

“Positive lahat ng mga naririnig namin… Sa coffee cart, wala po kaming na-encounter na gano’n [stigma],” shares one barista with a smile.

For many of them, this is the first time in years they have felt truly seen, not as criminals, but as people. The first time they could stand proud of who they are becoming.

Ex-Preso is just one program under PJPS’ PRL CARE (Compassion, Assistance, Reintegration, and Empowerment), which provides not only coffee-making skills but also life training, spiritual formation, and emotional support.

Because when you walk out of prison with nothing but your name, even a barista’s apron can feel like armor. And so, they continue changing lives— one coffee at a time.