Free from the bondage of terror
THE brutal death of Ozamiz City Mayor Reynaldo “Aldong” Parojinog, his wife, a brother and several private bodyguards in a pre-dawn raid last Sunday drew mixed reactions from the city’s constituents.
The operation was conducted by policemen headed by city police chief Jovie Espenido backed by Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) 10 elements.
According to my sources from Ozamiz City, a few sectors have shown sympathy to the Parojinogs that politically ruled and controlled the city for several decades.
But the majority, including nonOzamizanons, are rejoicing and hailed the police for ending the Parojinogs’ reign of terror.
Since the creation of the dreaded Kutarong Baleleng Group (KBG) and until the Parojinogs were catapulted to political power, majority of the residents of the city and some parts of the province of Misamis Occidental lived in terror.
Well, we understand the sentiments of people who are sympathetic to the Parojinogs despite their notoriety because they were the beneficiaries of the family’s generosity. The Parojinogs, especially the slain mayor, were very generous to their constituents.
The Parojinogs linked to the KBG used the style of Robin Hood, who robbed the rich people and gave part of the loot to the poor.
Read the story about the lives of known drug lords like Pablo Escobar of Colombia and our very own Jeffrey “Jaguar” Diaz. They share the same story about generosity.
The KBG is widely known for its notoriety. The group were involved in bank robberies, kidnappings, extortion, protection racket, as guns-for-hire and for the illegal drug trade.
Before joining politics, Mayor Parojinog and his late brother, Renato, were facing criminal cases because of their participation in criminal activities.
Aldong was known as the boss of all bosses in the KBG’s organizational setup. The KBG is the local version of the Italian Mafia and the Japanese Yakuza.
Aldong inherited the control of KBG from his late father, Octavio Parojinog, who founded the group, which used to be an anti-communist group in the ‘80s.
The group practically controlled criminal activities in Ozamiz City and its environs.
They allegedly killed people who crossed their path. They bribed policemen, the prosecution and judiciary and they are under the protection of some politicians and police authorities.
The media in Ozamiz City are hesitant in exposing the criminal activities of the group for fear of their lives. Several media killings in that city were perpetrated by the KBG.
But with the killing of Parojinog, has the structure of the KBG been dismantled? I don’t think so.
KBG is well-entrenched not only in Ozamiz City but also in the entire Mindanao. Another personality among the family might take the lead.
But for now, their reign of terror has been neutralized because of the aggressive, no-nonsense approach and political will of the Duterte administration.