“The very idea, in fact, that the PNP, rather than focusing on doing its job, would threaten

to slap
charges against a fictional TV series for its supposed “wrongful portrayal of PNP officers as corrupt and
ineffective” sounds like bad fiction.”

But the Philippines need not look to other countries for

such examples. In its own backyard, there are about 4,500 senior citizens still languishing in vastly
overcrowded jails, according to the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology. The only apparent
difference: They’re all poor and obscure, while Imelda is not. Several cases of senior citizens who have
faced arrests for various crimes have been highlighted on social media following the former first lady’s
nonarrest. Flaviana Sagapsapan, 94, from Dapitan, Zamboanga del Norte, was arrested last August for
parricide. Ricardo Castro was 79 when he was arrested in 2012 for allegedly stealing P36 worth of
chocolates. Petra Lukingan was 88 years old when jailed in 2012 for falsification of documents; she
became the oldest prisoner in Mandaluyong’s Correctional Institution for Women before she was
released in 2015 at the age of 91. Lukingan, together with other elderly inmates — some in poor health
or suffering from ailments — were featured in a “24 Oras” report on GMA 7 in July 2014 to highlight the
plight of elderly inmates.There is no justification for Imelda’s continued freedom despite her
conviction.Other countries have the will to jail their high-profile criminals, no matter the age; the
Philippines, lacking that critical faculty, continues to spin in circles.