Ozamiz mayor denies grudge vs slain former official

CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY— Ozamiz City Mayor Reynaldo Parojinog Sr. dismissed speculations that politics was behind the killing of former Vice Mayor Rolando Romero, who challenged him in the 2013 mayoral election.

Parojinog said while he and Romero were political opponents, he was not harboring any personal grudge between them.

The mayor has offered a P1 million reward for people who could provide any information that would lead to the arrest of the suspects in the Nov. 17 attack on Romero, also a former provincial board member of Misamis Occidental.

Romero, 60, was waiting to be served by a teller of a money remittance outlet in front of a mall in Ozamiz City when he was shot and killed by at least two of four suspects. The gunmen fled on two motorcycles.

Parojinog said he was hoping the reward would speed up efforts to identify the suspects.

“There were talks that politics may have been the reason behind Romero’s death,” he said.

Supt. Daryl Aranton, Ozamiz police chief, said investigators recovered five spent shells from a 9 mm gun and a spent shell from a .45 cal. pistol from the crime scene.

Police also recovered two guns from Romero, but it was not clear if he was able to fire back at his attackers. —JIGGER JERUSALEM