Burial of Parojinogs killed in Ozamiz raid stalled pending RTC decision

Almost two weeks after the violent raid in Ozamis, the burial of five members of the Parojinog clan who died in the armed clash has not yet been set.

The relatives of the Parojinog family are still waiting for the decision of the on the petition of detained Vice Mayor Nova Princess Parojinog-Eschavez and her brother Reynaldo Parojinog to attend the funeral service.

On "State of the Nation with Jessica Soho" on Thursday, GMA News' Rida Reyes reported that the Ozamiz Regional Trial Court (RTC) branches 15 and 35 had not decided whether to allow the detained Parojinogs to attend their parents' burial temporary schedule on Monday.

Ozamiz RTC branches 15 and 35 are handling the illegal drugs and possession of firearms charges of the vice mayor and her brother who are currently detained at the Philippine National Police Custodial Center in Camp Crame in Quezon City.

Ozamiz City Mayor Reynaldo Parojinog Sr., his wife Susan, his brother Provincial Board Member Octavio Parojinog were among 16 people killed in a shootout during a predawn raid last July 30.

The police said they were met by a volley of gunfire as they were about to enter the Parojinog compound.

The authorities had six warrants to search the houses of Mayor Parojinog, his daughter Vice Mayor Nova Princess Parojinog-Echavez, Board Member Parojinog, City Councilor Ricardo Parojinog, and one other for loose firearms.

On Thursday, the PNP-Internal Affairs Service (IAS) Region 10 revisited the Parojinog compound that the police raided last July 30.

The report said the friends and relatives of the Parojinog family were ready to coordinate with police investigation to assess how the police raid was conducted.

"Ibabase po kasi natin 'yan sa ebidensiyang nakalatag at matatanggap natin, at ang parameters po natin diyan ay yung police operational procedure (POP)," said IAS Region 10 director Police Senior Supt. Gerry Galvan.

"Kung may violation po sa ano sa POP, irerekomenda natin para sasampahan sila ng kaso," he added.

Several relatives of the Parojinog clan were also interviewed by the police as they also pledged to help in the investigation.

"Sana magkaroon talaga ng malinaw na investigation po," one of the Parojinog relatives told GMA News.

The people who witnessed the raid were also interviewed by the police.

The Ozamiz police earlier said they did not find irregularities in the conduct of the raid, that there was no overkill, and that evidence was not planted at the site.

The Firearms and Explosives Office (FEO), on the other hand, said out of the 14 licensed firearms the slain mayor only turned over 13 firearms last year.

There is still one firearm that was not turned over. Officials are still checking if the 9 firearms that were confiscated during the raid have been registered.

Authorities are still verifying the information that there are allegedly two firearms under the name of Reynaldo Parojinog Jr.

They are also checking whether barangay officials have a liability after they returned about 300 firearms that were allegedly from the Parojinog family.

"So soon we could provide CIDG (Criminal Investigation and Detection Group) para mapabilis ang investigation," said FEO chief Senior Supt. Val De Leon.

Meanwhile, Reyes reported that the Ozamiz City RTC is expected to issue a decision on the petition of the Vice Mayor and her brother on Friday to attend the last day of the wake and funeral of their parents. — Margaret Claire Layug/BAP, GMA News