'Kuratong Baleleng still active in Ozamiz'

MANILA, Philippines - A Misamis Occidental lawmaker yesterday called on the Philippine National Police to take action against the Kuratong Baleleng group, which he said is still active in Ozamiz City.

Misamis Occidental second district Rep. Loreto Leo Ocampos said the group is allegedly not only involved in criminal acts but is also being used as a private army by some local politicians.

“The Kuratong Baleleng has been operating with impunity in Ozamiz City because it enjoyed political protection for many years from the former city mayor, Aldong Parojinog, the son of the founder of Kuratong Baleleng, Octavio Parojinog,” Ocampos alleged.

“The violence perpetrated by the Kuratong Baleleng during the last elections proved again its potency and audacity in disregarding the law,” he said in a press briefing in a Quezon City restaurant.

Ocampos also alleged that Army soldiers work for Parojinog and that the military should look into this.

“They (military leadership) should cleanse the rank and file of rogue elements of the Army. I would like to ask them to sustain the program against private armies,” he said. – With Alexis Romero