Serving search warrant vs. Parojinogs in wee hours proper, Bato says

Philippine National Police chief Director General Ronald dela Rosa defended Monday the pre-dawn raid conducted by his men against the Parojinogs in Ozamiz City.

Dela Rosa said serving the search warrant in the wee hours of the morning provided the policemen the advantage they needed.

"In order to gain maximum advantage na hindi ma-leak ang information, hindi maka(takas) 'yung subject sa search, baka ipagtatapon ang mga ebidensya, we have to dictate the tempo, the schedule," Dela Rosa said in a press conference.

He added that there was no specific time stated in the search warrant.

"Every time is a legal time to serve a warrant, walang sinabi 'dun sa search warrant na kailangang i-serve 'yun only during office hours. Ibig sabihin you are commanded to serve the search warrant in a specific location, any time of the day, any day of the week, so 24/7 'yan," Dela Rosa said.

Contrary to the claim that the Parojinogs were meant to be killed, Dela Rosa said Ozamiz City Mayor Reynaldo Parojinog and his close relatives knew that they were "meant to be operated upon."

The Parojinogs were among the politicians mentioned by President Rodrigo Duterte as being allegedly involved in illegal drug activities.

Dela Rosa denied insinuations that Ozamiz City police director Chief Inspector Jovie Espenido was assigned to the city to neutralize the mayor supposedly similar to what happened to Albuera, Leyte Mayor Rolando Espinosa.

He said the Ozamiz City PNP was not the main unit behind the raid against the Parojinogs.

Dela Rosa said it was an operation led by the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group.

"The operation was made by the CIDG. Ang participation ni Espenido at Ozamiz City ay [nung] maging joint operation lang 'yun, originally it was a CIDG ops," Dela Rosa said.

He added Espenido was not involved in the killing of Espinosa as the latter was killed inside the Leyte Sub-Provincial Jail in Baybay by the CIDG operatives.

Espenido was then the police chief of Albuera town.

Director Roel Obusan, CIDG head, said the operation between Espinosa and Parojinog were very different.

"If we really want to substantiate yung comparison, I think dalawa lang ang the same doon, parehong mayor (ang subject) at CIDG (ang nag-operate). All others iba na," Obusan said.

He added that he already learned his lesson in the Espinosa incident and made sure that this will not happen in the Parojinog raid.

He said that he was not privy to the serving of a search warrant on Espinosa but knew about the operation that was about to go down on the Parojinogs.

"So ako naman ay natuto na doon sa operation doon sa Albuera so I will not be committing the same mistakes [that were committed there]. Ito matagal naming pinagplanuhan. In fact, we followed all the procedures of the PNP as well as the law," he said.

He said that even though Mindanao was under martial law, the police still applied for search warrant before conducting the raid.

"Kahit martial law hindi namin pinadaan sa order lang. We followed court legal processes, we applied for a search warrant, we see to it the deponent is true, alive person at yun ay connected sa kanila. Sumunod kami sa lahat ng circulars ng courts na magkaroon ng warrant so I believe this is totally different," he said.

He also denied that they intended to kill the Parojinogs.

"We [did] not mean to kill, may walo pa tayong nahuli especially yung mga armed members nila na sumuko naman kaya it erases the doubt or claim ng lawyer na they are meant to be liquidated kasi if that's really our intention namatay na sana lahat," he said.

He added the Parojinogs were maintaining a private army which fought it out with the police during the raid. —NB/KVD, GMA News