Nova Parojinog tried to swallow 'drug transaction list' in video —Espenido

Ozamiz City police said the item that Vice Mayor Nova Princess Parojinog-Echavez tried to swallow was a list of her family's drug transactions.

"Hindi iyon shabu, yun lahat ang details ng transaksyon nila sa drugs," Ozamiz City police Chief Inspector Jovie Espenido told Rida Reyes on her report on "24 Oras" on Wednesday.

The Criminal Investigation and Detection Group of the Philippine National Police (PNP-CIDG) holds the piece of paper as valuable evidence in the ongoing investigation into the Parojinogs' alleged involvement in in the drug trade.

In a cellphone video taken the moment police raided her home, Nova was seen attempting to conceal items including a white-colored object in her hand.

The family's legal representative Ferdinand Topacio said the item Parojinog ingested definitely was not shabu.

"It's not shabu, kasi kung shabu iyon, kasi kung nilunok mo, kasi shabu is water-soluble, it will be instantly absorbed by the body," Topacio said.

Nova's father Ozamiz City Mayor Reynaldo Parojinog Sr. and his wife were killed in their homes when a predawn search on Sunday turned violent. A total of 16 people died and several others were arrested.

Parojinog hideout

Espenido said the family carried out crimes in an abandoned mansion in Ozamiz owned by the elder Parojinog.

"Dito dadalhin... itong mga kompitensya, iyon nga ang hinahanap natin ngayon, kung saan nilibing ba, kaya makita mo, talagang dead end dito," he said.

The building was in ruins.

Espenido said the Mayor had the place torn down just as President Rodrigo Duterte took office in 2016.

Both the Mayor and his daughter were on Duterte's list of personalities allegedly linked to illegal drugs trade.

Espenido also believed that the Parojinogs amassed a fortune from the trade to live a posh life, which manifested in the family's several estates and rest houses.

Espenido added that the hundreds of firearms surrendered by 40 barangays in Ozamiz stocked in the authorities' custodial center were sourced from the Parojinogs.

"Lahat ng baril, idispose ng mga tao nila, para may trabahuhin, ikaw ang mag-trabaho doon, tapos ikaw ang magtrabaho...assignment ba, o designation task sa kanila," Espenido said. —Margaret Claire Layug/JST, GMA News