Parojinog Jr. found guilty of illegal drug possession

The son of slain Ozamiz City mayor Reynaldo Parojinog, Sr. was sentenced to life imprisonment for illegal possession of drugs Friday.

A Quezon City court found Reynaldo Parojinog, Jr. guilty of violation of Section 11 of the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002 and also ordered him to pay a fine of P500,000.

Reynaldo Jr. was arrested with his sister, Ozamiz Vice Mayor Nova Princess Parojinog, in a deadly police raid where operatives found shabu, P1.4 million in cash, and several firearms in their residences on July 30, 2017.

The mayor, his wife, and 13 others were killed in the operation.

President Rodrigo Duterte had accused the Parojinogs of involvement in the illegal drug trade.

In August 2017, the Parojinog scion was charged in court with possession of 116.9578 grams of methamphetamine hydrochloride, locally known as shabu.

Less than two years later, the Quezon City Regional Trial Court Branch 79 decided the prosecution proved beyond reasonable doubt that Reynaldo Jr. possessed more than 50 grams of shabu at the time, hence the life sentence.

"This case shows again the resolve of the DOJ to prosecute all drug lords, whether entrenched crime families or small time peddlers," said Senior Assistant State Prosecutor Juan Pedro Navera, one of the prosecutors who handled the case.

In the 23-page ruling, Judge Nadine Jessica Corazon Fama said the prosecution was able to establish all the elements for illegal possession of dangerous drugs and that Reynaldo Jr. failed to show convincing evidence to prove otherwise.

The court said the testimonies of the prosecution witnesses proved that the July 30, 2017 police search of Reynaldo Jr.'s house in Brgy. Sta Cruz, Ozamiz City yielded a black sling bag containing sachets of white crystalline substance, improvised glass pipes, plastic cellophane, aluminum foil, tongs, and scissors.

Minnielisa, Reynaldo Jr.'s wife, admitted she saw a sling bag containing drugs inside the cabinet of their television stand at the time of the search, the court said. Other witnesses also testified the said items were seized.

"It must be emphasized that the finding of illicit drugs and paraphernalia in a house or building owned or occupied by a particular person raises the presumption of knowledge and possession thereof, which, standing alone, is sufficient to convict," the court held.

The court also ruled the prosecution was able to demonstrate that the integrity and evidentiary value of the confiscated drugs had been preserved.

"The denial of the accused cannot be given credence by the Court. The claim of the defense that the drugs found in the house of the accused were planted was unsubstantiated by clear and convincing evidence," the court said. — MDM/KBK, GMA News