EDITORIAL - Life-threatening

Pastor Apollo Quiboloy spent six months in hiding with no report that he ever required hospital confinement for any affliction. But perhaps arrest and detention without bail, in accommodations that a man wealthy enough to tool around in a private jet may not be used to, can trigger a “life-threatening” affliction.

“Life-threatening” was how the Philippine National Police reportedly described the “irregular heartbeat” that prompted Quiboloy’s furlough last Friday from detention at the PNP Custodial Center and confinement at the Philippine Heart Center in Quezon City. The PNP has since walked back the statement, and said yesterday that Quiboloy had completed his medical tests. A regional trial court in Pasig, however, has ordered the extension of his hospital confinement to Nov. 16, ostensibly so he could complete his medical examinations.

Quiboloy’s spokesperson, lawyer Kaye Laurente, said yesterday that the pastor was “doing well” and was “just undergoing his annual check-up.” She said the irregular heartbeat “is likely because he has an athletic heart from his active lifestyle, especially in sports like basketball and golf before his detainment.”

Arrest and detention could trigger all sorts of physical and mental afflictions. Authorities, however, must balance the responsibility to provide proper medical attention to detainees with the need to prevent its abuse.

In the past years, too many mainly wealthy or influential people have managed to evade detention without bail or, for those convicted, to cut the time spent in prison by inventing all sorts of afflictions that would allow them to stay in a hospital. Detained politicians have used props for these during public appearances, with wheelchairs among the most popular along with neck braces.

Convicted drug trafficker Yu Yuk Lai reportedly spent months in a private hospital in Manila’s Chinatown, visiting casinos at will, when she was supposed to be serving her sentence at the Correctional Institution for Women. Several inmates at the New Bilibid Prison have done similar capers, with the connivance of corrupt prison guards.

Inmates also have rights, and their health must be looked after by their custodians. The state, however, must ensure that this is not abused to make a mockery of justice and the rules governing detention.