MANILA, Philippines – He’s a 4-star general out to stop the country’s crime and illegal drugs problem, but when it’s time to joke and let loose, Director General Ronald dela Rosa is also apparently the man for the job. 

Dela Rosa, who was installed chief of the Philippine National Police (PNP) on Friday, July 1, made an off-the-cuff remark during his inaugural speech, thanking Alan Purisima, a former PNP chief, for constructing the “White House” or the official residence of the PNP chief.

“Last night my wife and my children toured the White House. And my wife told me: Roland, dapat magpasalamat ka kay General Purisima dahil ang ganda ng White House (You should thank General Purisima because the White House is beautiful),” said Dela Rosa, prompting laughter and cheers from the crowd at the Multi-Purpose Hall inside Camp Crame. 

Reporters gathered at the media center, however, had a decidedly different reaction to Dela Rosa’s jokes. 

The “White House” is a controversial structure and the basis of a plunder complaint against Purisima. A Senate committee even summoned Purisima to ask about the new house and the source of its funding. 

Purisima eventually said that contractors built the P12-million home for free. Senator Grace Poe, then the chair of the committee that invited Purisima, told the police general: “The contractors aren’t just doing this out of the goodness of their heart. As long as you’re in office, alam nilang makikinabang sila (they know they can benefit).”

Dela Rosa, however, insisted he wasn’t teasing Purisima and was being sincere, pointing out that he and his family would not “experience” the White House had Purisima not decided to build it. 

Purisima’s critics, said Dela Rosa, simply didn’t understand the trouble the flooding at the old White House caused. “Kaya naghanap si General Purisima ng pondo para igawa ang bagong White House,” added Dela Rosa. (That’s why General Purisima looked for funds to build the new White House.)

As chief of the PNP, Dela Rosa is entitled to use the house, which was built in 2013. 

Purisima was only one of the several former PNP chiefs whom Dela Rosa invited to witness his inauguration. What Dela Rosa failed to mention, of course, was that Purisima is the only PNP chief who was kicked out of service over an allegedly anomalous deal between a courier service and the Firearms and Explosives Office (FEO). 

Purisima was former President Benigno Aquino III’s 3rd appointee to the top PNP post. His first year went by without a hitch, but he was soon plagued by allegations of corruption in 2014. 

He was preventively suspended for 6 months over the same supposedly anomalous deal, during which the bloody Mamasapano clash happened. – Rappler.com