DOJ approves indictment of Parojinog siblings for illegal gun, drug possession
The Department of Justice (DOJ) on Thursday ordered the filing of criminal charges against Ozamiz City Vice Mayor Nova Princess Parojinog Echavez and her brother Reynaldo Parojinog Jr.
In a 14-page resolution, prosecutors recommended charging the
vice mayor with illegal possession of firearms and ammunition under Section 28 of Republic Act 10591 (the Comprehensive Firearms and Ammunition Regulation Act) as well as possession of dangerous drugs under Section 11 of Republic Act 9165 (the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002).
The prosecutors likewise recommended filing of three counts of illegal possession of firearms and ammunition as well as possession of illegal drugs against Reynaldo Jr. Apart from this, Reynaldo Jr. will also be charged with illegal possession of explosives under Section 1 of Republic Act 9516 (the Act Amending Presidential Decree 1866 on the Unlawful Manufacture, Sales, Acquisition, Disposition, Importation or Possession of an Explosive or Incendiary Device).
The resolution was signed by Senior Assistant State Prosecutor Juan Pedro Navera and Assistant State Prosecutors Jose Christina Dugay and Ethel Rea Suril, whih the approval of Senior Deputy State Prosecutors Amor Robles and Severino Gana Jr.
DOJ prosecutors issued the resolution after the siblings underwent inquest proceedings on Tuesday at the Philippine National Police (PNP) headquarters in Camp Crame where they are currently detained.
Armed with search warrants issued by Quezon City Regional Trial Court (RTC) Executive Judge Cecilyn Burgos Villavert, the siblings were arrested before dawn Sunday during a series of raids conducted by the PNP Criminal Investigation Detection Group (CIDG) against their family in Ozamiz City.
The operations resulted in the death of 15 persons, including their father Ozamis City Mayor Reynaldo Parojinog Sr., as well as their mother Susan and uncle Misamis Occidental provincial board member Octavio Parojinog.
Paraffin test Eight of the 15 people who died during the Ozamiz City raid, including Mayor Parojinog and his brother Octavio, tested positive in a paraffin test conducted by the PNP, Chief Supt. Dionardo Carlos, PNP spokesman, said on Thursday.
The rest of the seven killed in the clash and the 16th fatality who died in a hospital, a relative of the Parojinogs, were no longer subjected to the paraffin test as requested by their families, he said.
The initial impression is that those who tested positive in the paraffin test fired a gun due to gunpowder nitrates present, although experts said there are some factors that affect the result of the paraffin test.
But Carlos said the result of the paraffin test is not conclusive. A survivor in the raid had earlier claimed that there was no firefight and that the victims were gathered inside a room where a grenade was lobbed by a policeman, and those who survived the blast were shot at close range.
Autopsy results on the eight fatalities in the Ozamiz raid showed that Parojinog’s wife, his brother Octavio, and Octavio’s wife died from blast wounds.
But the police said it was the camp of Parojinog which lobbed the grenade, as indicated by a grenade pin which was retrieved in the hands of one of his slain bodyguards.
Quoting the result of the autopsy report, Carlos said the mayor did not die as a result of the grenade blast but from two bullet wounds in his chest and head.
The mayor’s wife and sister-in-law were no longer subjected to paraffin test as there were no firearms recovered near their bodies, according to Carlos.
Carlos said all the documents on the case have been turned over to the CIDG. But he said there was no indication that Mayor Parojinog was shot at close range because of the absence of “smudging.”
Police said the Nova was arrested at her home in Barangay San Roque, Ozamiz City, where police found 10 sachets of various sizes containing methamphetamine hydrochloride, locally known as shabu; 11.4 million in cash; and a M16 rifle with ammunition.
Her brother was apprehended at his home in Barangay Sta. Cruz, also in Ozamiz City where policemen discovered 12-gauge shotgun with ammunition; a Ingram sub-machine pistol with ammunition; a .40 caliber pistol with ammunition; a hand grenade; five plastic sachets of various sizes containing shabu; and drug paraphernalia.
Prosecutors said that police found the illegal drugs in plain view during the serving of the search warrants.
“Objects falling in view of an officer who has a right to be in a position to have that view are subject to seizure even without a search warrant and may be introduced as evidence,” read the resolution.
Also, prosecutors learned from the CIDG that the siblings are not licensed firearm owners.
“The PNP-CIDG also submitted a Memorandum dated July 19, 2017 issued by PCI Dario F. Calatrava, Chief, Records Section of the PNP Firearms Licensing Division stating that respondents Reynaldo E. Parojinog Jr. and Nova Princess E. Paroninog and several named persons are not licensed firearm holders of any kind of caliber per verification from the database of their office,” the resolution said.
Duterte defends police
Meanwhile, President Duterte came to the defense of the police officers who conducted the raid which resulted in the death of Mayor Parojinog and 14 others Sunday morning.
He said the police had to protect themselves or the country would have dead law enforcers instead of dead narco-politicians. He reiterated that his order to the police is to "destroy" the drug organization, including everyone involved, to fully end the illegal drug trade.
Duterte recalled how he confronted the mayors linked to the illegal drug trade and urged them to stop doing it. "Sinabi ko talaga sa kanila (I really told them), 'Do not do it. Do not do it because my order is to destroy the organizations,'" he said.
"Hindi naman ito na basta (This is not a case where) you pick one enemy at a time. You are up against an organization," he added.
“My order to the military and the police – and rightly so – was to destroy the organization, both the supplier, the users, and everybody connected with the organization because they keep alive the trade," the President said. (With a report from Argyll Cyrus B. Geducos)