Lacson on operation vs Parojinogs: ‘I don’t see anything irregular’

Sen. Panfilo Lacson (Philippine Daily Inquirer file photo)

Sen. Panfilo Lacson saw no irregularities in the police raid that resulted in the death of 15 persons – including Mayor Reynaldo “Aldong” Parojinog Sr. and his wife Susan – last Sunday.

“At this point, I don’t see anything irregular,” Lacson told reporters on Monday. “The search warrant indicates it can be served any time of the day and night. So there’s nothing irregular there.”

Serving the search warrant against the Parojinogs at 2 a.m. is not questionable, according to the former police chief.

“When I was still in the law enforcement service, talagang we’d rather operate pag madaling araw para element of surprise yun eh… Remember pulitiko ’yan. ’Pag araw maraming tao baka maraming taong madisgrasya pag nagkaroon ng exchange of gunfire,” he said.

Lacson said the Senate also saw no reason to conduct a probe on the Ozamiz raid, unlike in the case of the killing of Mayor Rolando Espinosa Sr. of Albuera, Leyte, who was killed in a search operation inside his cell.

“At this point, wala akong nakikitang reason kung bakit mag-imbestiga na naman ang Senate dahil lalabas yan for every police operation, narito ang Senado magiimbestiga. Unlike kay Albuera masyadong blatant. Kitang-kita natin na kailangan talagang tingnan,” he said.

As head of the Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Task Force (PAOCTF), which has been abolished, Lacson and his men were tried for multiple murder charges after leading an alleged rubout against 11 members of the Kuratong Baleleng gang on May 18, 1995 on Commonwealth Avenue in Quezon City.

The Supreme Court later cleared Lacson of the charges. He eventually became the Philippine National Police (PNP) chief.

The Parojinogs gained power in the 1980s when its patriarch, Octavio Parojinog, led the anti-communist vigilante group Kuratong Baleleng. Octavio is the father of the slain mayor Reynaldo.

The military-formed group, however, morphed into a crime syndicate.

Kuratong Baleleng later became involved in a string of brazen bank robberies and kidnappings. /atm