MANILA – A Quezon City court ordered the transfer of former Ozamiz City Vice Mayor Nova Princess Parojinog to a secure facility of the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology in Bicutan, Taguig City while undergoing trial, it was learned Tuesday.

The Feb. 26 order of QC Regional Trial Court Br. 95 Judge Edgardo Bellosillo was in response to a motion by state prosecutors questioning Parojinog's continued detention at the Philippine National Police Custodial Center despite facing charges of illegal possession of drugs, firearms and explosives.

According to the prosecutors, the PNP Custodial Center is only a temporary holding facility for arrested persons under custodial investigation or preliminary investigation, while the BJMP is mandated by law to supervise detention of persons arrested and undergoing trial.

They claimed Parojinog is being given special treatment.

In granting the prosecution’s motion, the court rejected the special treatment allegation, but acknowledged the grounds cited.

“[T]his Court does not find any necessity for the continued detention of accused Parojinog in a custodial facility, unless there is a clear showing that the same poses existing serious threats and/or that BJMP-SICA does not have adequate resources to sustain the detention high-risk detention prisoners, such as accused Parojinog,” the court said.

“The Philippine National Police Headquarters Support Service (PNP-HSS) is hereby directed to cause the transfer of the custody and detention of accused Nova Princess E. Parojinog from Philippine National Police Custodial Center (PNP-CC) to the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP) Detention Facilities-Special Intensive Care Area (SICA) in Bicutan, Taguig City,” it added.

Parojinog and her brother Reynaldo Parojinog, Jr. have been detained following their arrest during a drug raid in their family compound in Brgy. Sta. Cruz, Ozamiz City, Misamis Occidental on July 30, 2017.

The operation left their father, former Ozamiz City Mayor Reynaldo Parojinog, Sr. and 14 others dead. The death of the Parojinog patriarch came after his inclusion in the Philippine government’s drug matrix.

Reynaldo, Jr. is currently serving his life imprisonment sentence at the New Bilibid Prison after he was convicted of possession of illegal drugs by QC RTC 79 in May last year.

He is also facing illegal possession of firearms and explosives charges in two other courts.

The Parojinog siblings have maintained their innocence, claiming all the evidence against them were planted.