Cries for justice ring out as Parojinogs laid to rest

Residents of Ozamiz City carry placards appealing for justice during the burial of Mayor Reynaldo Parojinog Sr., his wife and two siblings on Wednesday. —NEPTALIE BATOLENIO

OZAMIZ CITY — Police may have killed him in an antidrug raid that condemned him as an outlaw but Ozamiz City Mayor Reynaldo Parojinog Sr. remained admired by many residents, who even regarded him as a hero.

Outside Immaculate Conception Cathedral where the funeral Mass was held on Wednesday, Ozamiz residents carried placards calling for justice for the slain mayor, his wife Susan, and his siblings Mona and Misamis Occidental board member Octavio Parojinog, who were killed with 12 others during a government raid in the family compound in the city center on July 30.

Hundreds accompanied the cortege from the Barangay San Roque basketball court — where the wake for the Parojinogs was held — to the cathedral on Burgos Street, where retired Ozamiz Archbishop Jesus Dosado officiated the Mass on Wednesday. The Mass and funeral were attended by more than 5,000 people, many of them wearing white shirts printed with pictures of Mayor Parojinog and his wife.

Outpouring of sympathy

People, some of them crying profusely, came in droves to view the coffin of the mayor for the last time. “Ngano (Why)?” one woman wailed.

Outside the cathedral, traffic stood still as more people poured in, hoping to find space inside the church, while vehicles squeezed their way into the streets.

A pall of gloom descended on the city before the burial. The usual traffic jam at key intersections during the morning rush hours was absent. For still unknown reasons, several parents did not send their children to school.

Despite his family’s controversial past with the Kuratong Baleleng, a band of anticommunist crusaders turned criminals, Parojinog, known here as Aldong, was elected five times as mayor. He was into his 13th year in office when he was killed.

His daughter, Vice Mayor Nova Princess Parojinog, and his son, Councilor Reynaldo Parojinog Jr., were arrested during the July 30 raid. The siblings are detained at the Philippine National Police headquarters in Camp Crame.

Drug links

Parojinog and his daughter Nova were among the local officials that President Rodrigo Duterte linked to the illegal drug trade.

Judge Edmundo Pintac of the Regional Trial Court Branch 15 here denied the petition of Nova and Reynaldo Jr. to allow them to attend their parents’ burial.

Pintac cited safety and security concerns for the siblings and their police escorts in denying the petition.

“The court chooses the path of caution and gives greater weight to the assessment of the police, more especially that of the Ozamiz police,” Pintac said in a three-page order.

‘Spark’

He also said the siblings’ presence in the burial could “provide the spark” that would cause “emotions to erupt” and for the “opposing sides to turn violent and clash against each other.”

Nova Parojinog was charged with violation of Republic Act No. 9165 or the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002, specifically Section 11 for possession of dangerous drugs, and illegal possession of firearms. Her brother was charged with illegal possession of firearms and ammunition, explosives and dangerous drugs.

It took the funeral procession nearly an hour to reach Mt. Malindang Memorial Gardens in Barangay Bagacay, about 5 kilometers away from the city, where the Parojinogs were laid to rest in the family mausoleum.

The burial was originally scheduled on Aug. 14 but was rescheduled after relatives sought a second autopsy. —With reports from Allan Nawal