OZAMIZ City Councilor Ricardo “Ardot” Parojinog was arrested in Taiwan for illegal entry on Wednesday, May 23.
Parojinog is a younger brother of slain suspected drug kingpin Reynaldo Parojinog Sr. He been the subject of a 10-month police hunt for his alleged involvement in the illegal drug trade.
He was placed on the Bureau of Immigration’s lookout list in August 2017.
Manila Economic and Cultural Office (MECO) representative Lito Banayo made the announcement on Thursday, May 24, saying Ricardo Parojinog was arrested around 6 p.m. on Wednesday in Taiwan’s Pingtung county for overstaying and violating immigration laws.
Parojinog was reportedly taken into custody by Taiwanese immigration for possible deportation.
Chief Supt. John Bulalacao, Philippine National Police (PNP) spokesperson, confirmed the arrest of Parojinog. He is the last Parojinog to be accounted for, after his elder brother Ozamiz mayor Reynaldo “Aldog” Parojinog and several relatives were killed in a police raid in July last year.
“What I can tell you now, that is it confirmed that Ardot Parojinog was arrested (on Wednesday) by the Taiwan government for illegal entry. He has pending warrants of arrest, so when he comes back he will face these cases,” Bulalacao said.
According to Bulalacao, the PNP has no information as to when Parojinog will be deported.
“Although we have no date yet, the PNP is always ready to go to Taiwan to fetch Ardot Parojinog. We will file for the process for deportation. He committed several violations during his stay in Taiwan, which was the reason for his arrest. It will take some time before he will be deported, it is not yet definite, because the process may take long, depending on how fast the Taiwan government could process the deportation,” he said.
Malacañang on Thursday welcomed Parojinog’s arrest assured the public that he would be accountable for his actions, claiming his vain effort to escape arrest was evidence of his guilt.
“This is good news. First, what was he doing, hiding in Taiwan if he did not violate any law? As they said, flight is evidence of guilt,” presidential spokesperson Harry Roque said.
“To the residents of the town of mayor and councilor Parojinog, we will ensure that there would be justice. If Councilor Parojinog violated a law, he would be investigated and punished for the crime,” Roque added.
Parojinog faces illegal possession of firearms and ammunition in connection with the contraband found by police operatives at his house in a raid on July 30 last year.
Sixteen people were killed during the raid, among them were Ozamiz Mayor Reynaldo Parojinog Sr., his wife Susan, Misamis Occidental board member Octavio Parojinog Jr. and the mayor’s sister, Mona.
