MANILA, Philippines – Is it true that dead bodies were buried in an old deep well in Ozamiz?
City Police Chief Inspector Jovie Espenido on Friday had the well in Barangay Cogon excavated to verify reports that this was where the people allegedly ordered killed by Mayor Reynaldo Parojinog Sr. were buried.
The digging was done days after the mayor, his wife, two siblings, and 12 others were killed in predawn raids at the Parojinog residences.
According to the information received by authorities, it was only last month that the alleged remains were buried in the well. Most of the bodies were said to belong to robbery victims, non-locals who went to Ozamiz, and military and police assets.
Because there were allegedly piles of bodies in the well, the police used a backhoe to be able to hollow out what was inside.
But after hours of searching, the police only found garbage.
According to Barangay Cogon Captain Leonarda Macayren, there really were no bodies thrown into the well and that what she reported to the police before was the reeking smell from the well that lasted for two months.
Last Thursday, Espenido said he would also have the compound where the mansion of Mayor Parojinog used to stand dug up to find out if there are bodies buried in the area.
“’Yon nga hinahanap natin ngayon, kung saan inilibing ba [That’s what we are looking for now, where the bodies were buried],” Espenido said Wednesday.
The compound in Brgy. Bagacay was also allegedly used as dumping ground for the remains of the competitors of the Parojinog family in the narcotics business.
The Parojinogs had the mansion demolished when President Rodrigo Duterte assumed office last year. It was where the Parojinogs allegedly met each time they would carry out kidnappings and highway robberies.