PNP chief faces more complaints over assets

MANILA, Philippines – On the eve of his scheduled appearance before a Senate probe into his alleged corrupt practices, Philippine National Police (PNP) chief Alan Purisima faced yet another set of administrative and criminal complaints that include a new name: his son’s.

The Volunteers Against Crime and Corruption (VACC) on Monday, September 29, filed criminal and administrative complaints before the Ombudsman for Purisima’s alleged ownership of properties “unconscionably disproportionate to his salary and income from business.”

Led by Dante Jimenez, the VACC filed charges for indirect bribery, graft, and plunder, as well as dishonesty, grave misconduct, and conduct prejudicial the best interest of the service. VACC is non-stock, non-profit organization which claims to be a watchdog against crime and corruption in the country.

VACC accused Purisima of not being truthful with the declared properties in his Statement of Assets, Liabilities and Net Worth (SALN), based on information that the group sourced from “reliable” PNP officials it refused to name.

It likewise included an allegation made in a television news report that Purisima’s 21-year-old son Rainier Von had a 4-hectare operational modern poultry farm in Cabanatuan City amounting to P90 million (around $2 million*).

The group said Rainier Von, a nurse by profession, “has no means to acquire these questionable properties.” 

“Many netizens are beginning to lose faith and confidence on the PNP… VACC filed this complaint with the fervent hope that respondent’s acts be dealt with accordingly… This is our call to cleanse the PNP of scalawags in uniform so that it can perform its role as guardian and protector of the people,” the group said.

VACC’s Jimenez denied the complaint to be politically-motivated.

Second complaint in two weeks

This is the second complaint against Purisima in two weeks’ time. (READ: PNP chief faces graft, plunder complaint over mansion, ‘White House’)  

The VACC complaint likewise cited old issues raised by the first complainant, including the construction of the infamous “White House” inside a police camp and Purisima’s allegedly undervalued Nueva Ecija mansion.

“Even at a glance, the value of the said property is not only P3,750,000 but even five times of its declared market value,” the VACC complaint read.

Purisima’s public denial that he owned the Nueva Ecija mansion shows his “intent to hide said property,” the group added.

Like the first complaint, VACC alleged that the privately-funded construction of the PNP chief’s residence in Camp Crame known as “White House” constitute indirect bribery.

“The unexplained wealth, the mis-declaration in his SALN, and the indirect bribery alleged to have been committed by the respondent put in bad light the integrity of the whole PNP organization,” the VACC added, explaining the additional administrative charges that were absent in the first complaint against Purisima before the Ombudsman.

A former security aide of President Benigno Aquino III when Cory Aquino was president, Purisima has repeatedly denied these allegations but without providing details. Aquino has also stood by him. – Rappler.com

*1 USD = 44.9900 PHP