Mayor Parojinog, 7 others test positive for powder burns

Slain Ozamiz City Mayor Reynaldo Parojinog Sr. and seven of his men tested positive for gunpowder burns, indicating they engaged the Philippine National Police raiding team in a firefight on Sunday, a PNP Crime Laboratory report released on Thursday showed.

The report, released amid criticism that the police operation was a “rubout,” showed that the mayor’s siblings (Misamis Occidental Board Member Octavio Jr. and Mona Parojinog) as well as his wife, Susan, died from the blast of a grenade allegedly hurled by one of the Parojinogs’ men.

At a press briefing,  Supt. Dionardo Carlos said that the results of the paraffin tests on the bodies proved there was an exchange of gunfire in the raid on the Parojinogs’ compound in Ozamiz City.

The PNP spokesperson explained: “It (paraffin test) is not conclusive but it helps the investigation. It will show us (that) the firearms that were recovered in the premises were used and there was a gun battle. There was an exchange of gunfire and it will reinforce that there was a gun battle in the premises because of the bodies that tested positive for gunpowder nitrates.”

Carlos said that of the 16 killed in Sunday’s raid, eight had traces of gunpowder nitrate in their hands. There were no casualties on the police side.

He said only the bodies which had firearms near them were subjected to the paraffin test.

“The test excluded Susan and Mona Parojinog who had no guns near their bodies and had blast injuries,” he said.

Autopsy was conducted on eight bodies, including all of the slain Parojinogs. “There were seven (bodies) that were not autopsied because the families waived the autopsy,” he said.