A TALE OF DEBT AND DEATHS: ‘Survivor’ in Estancia shooting cooperative, but family doubts his innocence, police says

Police said the lone survivor in the deadly Estancia shooting last Sept 14, 2022, is cooperating in their investigation but the victims’ families have misgivings about his claims. (Photo courtesy of Jerry Medina via Aksyon Radyo-Iloilo)

By Jennifer P. Rendon

He may have survived the shooting incident that killed his three fellow businessmen, but police are not yet done with Jevron Parojinog.

Colonel Adrian Acollador, Iloilo police chief said, that since Parojinog is a vital witness to the crime, he is also deemed a person of interest.

“He is cooperative with the police investigation but indi convinced ang family (of the victims),” Acollador said.

Parojinog was taken into police custody for investigation after the deaths of businessmen Chrysler Floyd Fernandes, 27, of Dayot Subdivision, Barangay Jereos, La Paz, Iloilo City; Jan Paul Mark Bosque, 28, of Lopez Jaena Sur, Lapuz, Iloilo City; and Mark Clarence Libao, 24, of Block 4, Lot 6, Sto. Rosario Village, Barangay Quintin Salas, Jaro, Iloilo City.

The trio was gunned down inside a sports utility vehicle last Sep 14, 2022.

The 24-year-old Parojinog is a resident of Barangay Villa Pani-an, Estancia, the area where the shooting incident happened.

Reports indicated that Parojinog tested negative in the paraffin test, although such test is inadmissible as evidence in the courts.

“We are requesting the Regional Anti-Cybercrime Unit 6 for the extraction of the information from the victims’ mobile phones and the footages on the vehicle’s dash camera,” he said.

‘WHO OWES WHO?’

Meanwhile, Acollador corrected earlier reports that Bosque owed another person P7 million.

During the initial investigation, Parojinog told the Estancia police investigator that Bosque owed him money.

But Bosque’s family and his fiancée Veronica Dazon claimed that it was Parojinog who owed Bosque P7 million.

There were reports that Parojinog also owed Fernandez another P3 million.

Dazon told Aksyon Radyo-Iloilo that Bosque went to Estancia to collect the P7 million from Parojinog who facilitated the sale of a fishing boat which the victim owned.

Dazon issued the clarification after Parojinog claimed to the police that Bosque borrowed P7.5 million from him, P1.5 million of which will be paid for the latter’s gambling debts.

But Bosque’s family denied that the victim was hooked on gambling.

Acollador said the local police are spearheading the investigation and are being supported by investigators from the Iloilo Police Provincial Office (IPPO) and the Police Regional Office 6 (PRO-6).

Meanwhile, Brigadier General Leo Francisco, Western Visayas police chief, said that he’s not giving any timeline in the investigation.

“I want a quality investigation. I don’t want to pressure them just to solve this,” he said.

Francisco said he wanted real suspects to be arrested and hauled to court.