By AARON RECUENCO & CAMCER IMAM
The mayor of Ozamiz City and 11 others were killed during a series of raid conducted by police authorities inside the properties of the mayor’s family in San Roque Lawis of the same city.
Director of the Northern Mindanao regional police Chief Supt. Timoeteo Pacleb said mayor Reynaldo Parojinog, Sr., his wife Susan, brother Octavio Parojinog who is the incumbent board member of the province were killed during the raid along with Barangay Peacekeeping Action Team (BPAT) members Nestor Cabalan, Miguel del Victoria and a certain Vasquez.
“Our personnel were met with gunfire when they were about to enter the house of the Mayor. This led to the gunfight,” said Pacleb.
The six others were still being identified as of press time.
Parojinog’s daughter Nova Princess, the city vice mayor, was arrested in her home, just a few meters from her father’s house.
Confiscated inside the vice mayor’s residence were alleged firearms and illegal drugs.
Law enforcers also raided City Councilor Ricardo Parojinog’s house in Barangay Bagakay where the raiding team seized assorted firearms and ammunition including a shotgun, three rocket-propelled grenade launchers, M79 rifles, two hand grenades and eight M79 bullets. Also taken were allege illegal drugs and drug paraphernalia. He was away during the raid.
The house of the mayor’s son, “Dodo,” was also raided.
In a radio interview, Superintendent Lemuel Gonda, spokesperson of the Philippine National Police-10, said the raiding team tried to serve search warrants on the mayor’s residence.
Sources in Ozamiz said the power around the mayor’s residence was cut off during the raid.
The Parojinog had been tagged as among those involved in narco-politics but both the mayor and the vice mayor repeatedly denied the accusation, saying they had even initiated their anti-drug campaign even before President Duterte launched his war on drugs last year.
Before Parojinog, two other mayors linked to illegal drugs were killed.
Albuera mayor Rolando Espinosa was shot dead inside his jail cell November of last year while Datu Saudi Ampatuan mayor Samsudin Dimaukom was killed in an alleged shootout October of last year in North Cotabato.