Parojinog case: Presumption of regularity challenged

The late Ozamiz Mayor Reynaldo Parojinog Sr. (Photo from his Facebook account)

Malacañang sees nothing wrong with the police operation on Sunday that left Ozamiz Mayor Reynaldo “Aldong” Parojinog Sr. and 14 others dead, a position disputed by a congressional ally who cited Philippine National Police rules.

“There is a presumption of regularity in all of this. If there is anyone who will complain that something irregular happened, then an investigation will have to be done,” said Senior Deputy Executive Secretary Menardo Guevarra on Monday.

“For now, we presume regularity,” he added.

But Kabayan  Rep. Harry Roque, an administration ally, does not agree with Malacañang, citing PNP rules that say deaths in police operations should be investigated through an inquest proceeding by the Department of Justice to determine if there is foul play.

Chapter 3, Rule 15.4 (Inquest Proceeding Necessary When the Suspect Dies) of the Revised PNP Operational Procedures provides that the team leader of the operating unit should immediately report to the duty inquest prosecutor, according to Roque.

This should be done “prior to the removal of the body from the scene,” he said. The exception is when the armed confrontation occurs in areas where there is no inquest prosecutor; in which case, the territorial police unit can proceed with the investigation.

‘The police bible’

But Roque said he expected PNP chief Ronald dela Rosa “to order the PNP chain of command to enforce the strict observance of the provisions of the PNP-OP, as this is the police bible for any and all police operations.”

When asked about the request for an investigation by Vice Mayor Nova Echaves, the daughter of the slain mayor, Guevarra said: “Well, that is bound to happen in incidents like these, when, you know, raids result in deaths.”

“So I guess, the normal procedures and the normal investigative procedures will have to be observed if there is any claim of  improper implementation of the search warrant,” he said.

Echaves, who was also arrested by the raiding team, is said to be the girlfriend of Herbert Colanggo, a convicted bank robber serving a life sentence and allegedly running a drug distribution syndicate from New Bilibid Prison.

Guevarra said there was no need for an independent body to look into the police raid on Mayor Parojinog, who was tagged by President Duterte as a big-time drug lord.

“We don’t find any need to create any ad hoc or task force to investigate this matter because the structures are in place,” he said.

“So, much so-called information about what happened is coming out and we don’t know which one is true, which one is correct,” Guevarra said.

“Let’s give time to our law enforcers, our existing investigative bodies to take a look at what really happened here before we make any conclusion,” he added.

Guevarra said there was no need for the Commission on Human Rights (CHR) and the Office of the Ombudsman to seek the Palace’s permission to investigate Sunday’s incident.

“They are supposed to be independent. They have to do their own mandates,” Guevarra said.

Last week,  Mr. Duterte said that the Ombudsman and the CHR should first inform him if they were going to investigate a soldier or policeman for wrongdoing.

“I presume he was speaking as Commander in Chief and not as Chief Executive,” Guevarra said.

“In other words, it’s just a matter of saying that … since you will be investigating a law enforcer or a soldier or an officer under my command, it would be a lot better if you let me know about this investigation,” he said.