ShareThisPurisima faces Senate probe, says he won’t quit as groups want him out
PASAY CITY – Embattled Philippine National Police (PNP) Director General Alan Purisima finally appeared before the Senate committee on public order and illegal drugs and answered the charges and allegations poured on him.
Observers, however, agreed that Purisima’s testimony in the presence of top PNP officials in the gallery, opened more questions about his wealth and alleged incompetence in running the organization and fighting the resurgence of crimes as he faces a third plunder and graft charges and as calls for his resignation mounted.
Sen. Sergio Osmena himself reiterated during the nationally televised Senate hearing should now resign as he is dragging President Aquino down. Osmena also said he did not believe on many statements of Purisima in the hearing.
Sen. Mary Grace Poe Llamanzares, Senate committee chairperson, and Osmena noted many inconsistencies in the testimony of Purisima, but said they would not pass judgement as the same will be done by the Office of the Ombudsman which has received three plunder and graft complaints against the PNP chief.
Before suspending the proceedings, Poe directly told Purisima on what she noted as inconsistencies in his answers, which gave way to suspicions that are being felt by many.
“And this was your chance to be able to explain yourself and I appreciate your presence but eventually, it will be the Ombudsman that will decide, but I still stand on certain inconsistencies that I feel there should be more forthrightness on your part but for the purposes of this meeting today, at least we have your answers,” Poe said.
“I feel that there should be an improvement on police visibility with regard to the police officers and of the public. The public will look up to you in case of crime. I think they would like to hear directly from the PNP Chief about what is being done and also instead of just your spokesperson,” she said.
Dante Jimenez, founding chairman of the Volunteers Against Crime and Corruption (VACC), spoke during the Senate hearing about another kidnapping incident in which the victim was also killed, a reflection, he said, of the breakdown of law and order in the country under Purisima. The VACC has filed the third plunder and graft charges against Purisima.
Resurgence of kidnapping cases were also reported by Teresita Ang-See and another resource during the Senate hearing.
The embattled PNP chief, however, appeared confident that he was able to deflect during the Senate hearing the anomalies under his rein, the resurgence of crimes, among others, and declared that he will not resign.
Purisima made it clear that resignation or even a leave of absence is not among his options even as he continues to deal with the accusations against him, especially that he has the backing of President Aquino himself.
As a young police lieutenant, Purisima was a member of the elite Presidential Security Group (PSG) assigned as the security aide of President Cory Aquino’s only son who became the current president.
The current President Aquino almost died in the 1987 botched coup when he was shot by rebel soldiers near Malacañang.
In 1989, when rebel soldiers again mounted another bloody coup, coming close to toppling Cory Aquino, Purisima was then operations officer of the PNP’s Special Action Force (SAF), which helped put down the mutiny.
Observers and Purisima’s critics said the PNP chief appeared to have failed the credibility test given by Senate probers on issues surrounding his purported questionable lifestyle especially in the light of apparent loopholes in his claims concerning his lavish official residence which is called the “white house” located inside the PNP headquarters in Camp Crame, Quezon City and other wealth issues.
“I won’t turn my back on my mandated tasks. I won’t allow crooks to win. I will continue my service to our nation even if the attacks against without any basis continue,” Purisima said in his opening statement as he pointed out that his detractors were trying to derail the reforms he has instituted in the PNP.
Purisima presented before the Senate committee copies of his statement of assets, liabilities and net worth (SALn) covering the period 2013 and 2012, in the hope of dismissing charges of his alleged unexplained wealth.
From the nearly P9 million net worth declared by Purisima in 2012, it went down P6.5 million last year, owing to an increase in liabilities that included personal and car loans. Purisima incurred an outstanding personal loan amounting to P4.5 million and car loan for a brand Alphard secured through a bank, totaling to P3.5 million.
His total assets, however, increased to P17.3 million in 2013 from P13.3 million the year before. His real properties stood only at over P4 million despite charges that he owns a poultry farm and a mansion in Nueva Ecija.
Purisima admitted owning a 4.7-hectare residential property in Nueva Ecija but declared its value only at P3.7 million. He said he acquired the property for only P1.2 million using his and his family’s combined salaries and savings that includes his monthly salary of P107,000.
Purisima was questioned during the hearing how he was able to acquire a Toyota Land Cruiser which is worth more than P4 million. The PNP chief at a discounted price of only P1.5 million from the Toyota dealer in San Fernando, Pampanga, which is known as a lair of lucrative “jueteng” operations.
Purisima declared that controversial white house in Camp Crame was constructed by some contractors for only over P11 million, not P25 million as earlier reported. Earlier, Purisima and his spokesman declared that the donors were fellow masons.
Purisima was caught with his pants down when he revealed that there was no agreement with the donors indicating specifications and costs before the actual construction started. The PNP chief also said he donated many furnishings and equipment in the “white house.”
Osmena, however, bewailed that while Purisima and his contractors built a “mansion” for the PNP chief, many policemen are suffering from lack of housing facilities and that the PNP General Hospital inside Camp Crame lacked many facilities and medicines.