CAGAYAN DE ORO (MindaNews / 04 September) — Former Ozamiz Councilor Ricardo Parojinog allegedly died of cardiopulmonary arrest in his detention cell inside the police station in Ozamiz City on Friday, police said.
Lt. Col. Mardy Hortillosa, PNP Northern Mindanao spokesperson, said this was the initial finding indicated in the preliminary report they received after Ricardo “Ardot” Parojinog was reported to have been found dead in his cell last Monday morning.
The 57-year old Parojinog, was the younger brother of Ozamiz City Mayor Reynaldo Parojinog Sr., who was killed along with 14 of his relatives and followers during a police raid on July 30, 2017.
President Rodrigo Duterte had earlier named the Parojinogs as the number 1 drug-dealing family in Northern Mindanao and placed them on his drug list.
Hortillosa said responding personnel from the Ozamiz City Health Office who conducted a medical evaluation on Parojinog’s body found him “unconscious and unresponsive.”
“The initial finding is cardiopulmonary arrest secondary to cardio vascular disease,” Hortillosa said citing the police report.
Parojinog arrived in Ozamiz City last Wednesday to attend a court hearing for violation of Republic Act 10591 and Republic Act 9516 — the Comprehensive Law on Firearms and Ammunition and illegal possession of firearms and explosives.
Last Wednesday was the first time Parojinog returned to his hometown in Ozamiz after he was caught in Taiwan and deported back to the Philippines on July27, 2018.
Misamis Occidental Police Director Col. Danilo Tumanda in his report toNorthern Mindanao Brig. General Rolando Anduyan, said the prison guard on duty found Parojinog “unconscious and unresponsive” during a routine inspection at about 6 a.m. on Friday.
Tumanda said the guard immediately called an ambulance and medical personnel to check on Parojinog.
Initial pictures posted on Facebook showed Parojinog lying on a bed with his right knee slightly raised and his orange shirt raised to his chest inside the detention cell.(Froilan Gallardo / MindaNews)