Lawyer says another Parojinog family member dies

The death toll in Sunday's predawn police raid on properties of the Parojinog family in Ozamiz City, Misamis Occidental, rose to 16 Tuesday with the death of another Parojinog family member.

Lawyer Ferdinand Topacio, head of the family's legal team, said Daryl Parojinog died while at the intensive care unit.

"May isang kamag-anak pa po silang namatay, 'yung isang nasa ICU, si Daryl Parojinog," Topacio told reporters after the inquest proceedings of Vice Mayor Nova Princess Parojinog and her brother Reynaldo Parojinog Jr. in Camp Crame.

He said Daryl Parojinog, who is in her 20s, was the cousin of Vice Mayor Parojinog.

"We just got word na pumanaw na po ang pinsan po ni Vice Mayor Parojinog. She is very young, I think in her 20s," Topacio said, adding the information came from other members of the Parojinog family who went to Camp Crame on Tuesday.

Among those killed in the police raid were Vice Mayor Parojinog's father, Ozamiz City Mayor Reynaldo Parojinog; his wife, Susan; and his brother, Provincial Board Member Octavio Parojinog.

The clash took place while policemen were serving search warrants on homes belonging to the Parojinog family around 2:30 a.m. last Sunday. The police, who were looking for loose firearms, said the family's private armies were the first to fire shots.

The vice mayor and her brother were among those arrested. They were brought to Camp Crame Monday morning for processing.

President Rodrigo Duterte had earlier linked Mayor Parojinog to illegal drug operations, although the family had repeatedly denied it. —KBK/KVD, GMA News