EDITORIAL - The “Princess” treatment

It seems some old bad habits and practices still die hard, and one of these is the practice of giving moneyed inmates or detainees some privileges that the usual inmates don’t get.

In the case of Nova Princess Parojinog, her being allowed to leave her cell in the Philippine National Police Custodial Center last November to go on furlough even without a court order is being seen by many as an example of preferential treatment.

Just in case people forgot, Nova Princess, former vice mayor of Ozamiz City, is also the daughter of then Ozamiz City mayor Reynaldo Parojinog Sr., who was killed in a police raid in his residence last July 2017.

The raid came after Reynaldo Sr. was tagged as a narco-politician by President Rodrigo Duterte himself. Nova Princess and her brother, Reynaldo Jr., were also arrested in that raid and charged for drug possession.

This incident goes to show how much still needs to be fixed in this country where those with have enough money can get away with anything. In cases where they can’t get away, they can make sure they live life in detention as if they weren’t being detained at all.

Yes, it can also be that there is some valid excuse or plausible explanation as to why Nova Princess was allowed to leave her cell on furlough sans court permission. However, we cannot ignore that fact that there have been many cases of moneyed detainees practically living it up in jail.

Remember that inmate in the national penitentiary who was allowed to set up his own recording studio? That inmate who had his own jacuzzi? That inmate who was still able to manage his drug empire even as he was behind bars?

If some branches of law enforcement are willing to grant moneyed inmates the privilege of leaving their detention cells, what other favors are they willing to extend to prisoners who can afford to ask for them?