Parojinogs hated, loved
Ozamiz City Mayor Reynaldo Parojinog, one of the mayors whom President Rodrigo Duterte linked to the illegal drugs trade months ago, is dead. But he wasn’t the only one who died when police operatives swooped on two Parojinog houses and two farms Sunday dawn. His wife, a brother (who is also a Misamis Occidental provincial board member) and 12 other persons died with him.
Considering the questions being raised on the regularity of the operation and of some information that belied the police’s version of the incident, calls for an investigation were necessarily made. But the Revised Philippine National Police (PNP) Operational Procedures actually require that, according to Kabayan Party-list Rep. Harry Roque, a lawyer. The last we heard the PNP Internal Affairs Service said it will look into the incident.
Unfortunately for the Parojinogs, public opinion is obviously against them, at least for majority of the people living outside of Ozamiz City. These people believe that those killed got what they deserved. That view, though, may not apply to many Ozamiz City or Misamis Occidental residents. While elections can be rigged and voters can be bought or intimidated, the Parojinogs’ acquisition of political power must partly be because they have gotten the support of many people there.
The Parojinogs’ image was formed by people in Ozamiz City, where their official and personal acts are readily observed, differently from that of outsiders, who probably couldn’t identify them if they go inside a mall to shop. The former can be more objective than the latter in their view of the Parojinogs, although the former’s view could also be clouded by emotions. The latter’s view can easily be swayed because it relies on information from traditional and social media or from rumors.
It is thus good to remind people to first gather the details on what happened during the police operation and brush up on their knowledge on the Parojinogs before making conclusions. An unenlightened reaction to the Ozamiz City incident may end up unfair either for the Parojinogs or for the police or both.