WHAT was supposed to be a laid-back Sunday, Northern Mindanao was set ablaze by the news that around 2 a.m., a team from the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) conducted simultaneous raids in Ozamiz City, which led to the death of Mayor Reynaldo Parojinog Sr., and numerous others including his wife, and relatives.
According to various reports, Chief Superintendent Timoteo Pacleb, Police Regional Office chief of Northern Mindanao, the CIDG teams were simultaneously serving six search warrants against properties of the mayor and other Parojinog family members for drugs and firearms, on the early dawn of July 30, and that was when the operatives claimed to have encountered a violent response from the camp of the Parojinogs.
The raid also killed Susan, wife of the mayor; Misamis Occidental Board member Octavio Parojinog Jr., a certain Lydia and JR coming from a local TV, civilian volunteer members Miguel del Victoria, Nestor Cabalan, and Daniel D. Vasquez, who were said to be part of the barangay police force. The mayor’s daughter, vice mayor Nova Princess Parojinog, was arrested. Exact numbers of those who killed in the raids have yet to be finalized, as some claimed to only eight, to a maximum of 13.
Coming from colleagues on field, it was said that these Lydia and JR served as watchers for the mayor, and being linked as part of the “payroll” of the Parojinogs. Nova Princess became notable after linked to have a relationship with one of the drug lords and crime boss in New Bilibid Prisons, Herbert Colangco, who became a crucial informant in arresting Senator Leila De Lima for the alleged involvement in the drug trade inside the prison facility.
Interestingly, the current police chief that this bloody raid took place is Chief Inspector Jovie Espenido, who was reassigned in Ozamiz City in December 2016. He also served as the police chief of Albuera, Leyte, who tagged several public figures, including the now slain Albuera Mayor Rolando Espinosa Sr. and his son, Roland “Kerwin” Espinosa, as illegal drug traffickers.
However, this wasn’t the first time that the Parojinogs were raided, previous reports showed that in August 2016, there was already a search warrant being served, however quite unsuccessful since the police were not able to question persons of interest because it was believed that an insider tipped off the camp of the suspects including the Parojinogs. The raid was said to be a first time in the city, in terms of grand scale, since the city was notoriously known for Kuratong Baleleng, a once anti-communist vigilante group that later turned into a criminal syndicate, and the Parojinogs allegedly have ties with the group.
With only a month into office, President Rodrigo Duterte has mentioned the Parojinog family, especially the mayor, who he claimed to be linked with illegal drugs based on the list he presented before the media.
The mayor and his daughter also were indicted with a graft and corruption case in Sandiganbayan in February 2017, but later posted a bail amounting to P60,000. The case stemmed from the gymnasium renovation project because it was awarded to a construction firm also owned by the Parojinog family, which under laws, should have been disqualified from bidding based on conflict of interest.
We should look into this incident as we should have looked on how the case of the Espinosas progressed. We need to know the truth, we need to trace the source of this illegal drugs menace. But one thing is clear now: there is no more holy men and women, everyone is dispensable. May this start a momentum that everyone is answerable to the crimes being committed, and if possible, they should face the full due process of the law.
(nefluczon@gmail.com)
