Mayor Parojinog killed in Ozamiz raid; daughter arrested — police

Seven people, including Ozamiz City Mayor Reynaldo Parojinog, were killed in a predawn Sunday drug raid, a radio report said.

Ozamiz City Mayor Reynaldo Parojinog and daughter Vice Mayor Nova Princess Parojinog-Echavez

DZBB said police, led by Chief Insp. Jovie Espenido, raided the Parojinog compound at 2:30 a.m. Sunday.

Espenido was the chief of police of Albuera, Leyte, whose former mayor was killed by policemen inside his detention cell last November. 

While serving search warrants, cops were met with a volley of fire from the Parojinog security guards, prompting the police to return fire.

The purpose of the search warrant was to recover loose firearms from the Parojinogs, Misamis Occidental provincial police office chief Senior Supt. Jason De Guzman said.

Initial body count was seven including the mayor's, said Police Regional Office 10 spokesman Superintendent Lemuel Gonda. 

De Guzman, however, said that later body count was "12 to 13," including Parojinog's brother, board member Octavio Parojinog, and his wife Susan.

This number however is still for confirmation, De Guzman added.

Meanwhile, police said the mayor's daughter, Vice Mayor Nova Princess Parojinog-Echavez, was among those arrested.

Seized from the Parojinog compound were grenades, rifles, 45-caliber pistols, illegal drugs and money, De Guzman said.

No one from the police was reported killed in the incident, said De Guzman, adding that only one sustained minor injuries from shrapnel.

The Parojinogs came to national attention after their names appeared on President Rodrigo Duterte's list of personalities allegedly linked to illegal drugs trade.

Duterte said Mayor Parojinog was the father-in-law of Herbert Colanggo, one of the top drug lords in the country. 

While the elder Parojinog denied that Colanggo was his son-in-law, he admitted that the latter was Echavez's boyfriend.

Parojinog and Echavez were likewise charged with graft before the Sandiganbayan over the alleged anomalous contract for the renovation of a gymnasium in 2008.

The case was dismissed due to inordinate delay on the part of the Office of the Ombudsman in conducting the investigation for the case