General Purisima, what’s going on in PNP?

What’s up, General Purisima?

Things are heating up in the Philippine National Police (PNP) headquarters in Camp Crame, and we’re not talking about the weather. Last week’s buzz: PNP Chief Director General Alan Purisima was resigning. 

The police organization has been on tenterhooks since Purisima’s relationship with Interior and Local Government Secretary Mar Roxas began to deteriorate. It’s common knowledge the two don’t see eye to eye. A group of officers is identified with the PNP chief, while another is allied with Roxas – and they squabble over appointments, programs, and plans in a low intensity conflict that Crame is accustomed to.

Are things coming to a head? We don’t know exactly, but talk of Purisima’s supposed plan to quit has been traced to his Philippine Military Academy (PMA) classmates. Purisima was appointed top cop in 2012 and won’t be due for retirement anytime soon. He’s still a year-and-a-half away from turning 56, the mandatory age of retirement in the PNP. 

Sources privy to what’s happening in Crame say Purisima may be “up-to-here” with “demolition jobs” against him. Two things: the controversy over a delivery service deal in the Firearms and Explosives Office (FEO) and the “delisting” of wanted businessman Delfin Lee. Officials close to Purisima cried foul, particularly over alleged anomalies in the FEO. The suspicious deal between Werfast and PNP, one official said, however happened long before Purisima took over.  

Perhaps his PMA classmates would like him to step down now before he’s dragged into yet another scandal? 

The police chief was noticeably absent during the launch of the “e-subpoena” system in Camp Crame on Wednesday, April 30. Roxas, Justice Secretary Leila de Lima, and Chief Justice Lourdes Sereno were all there. But where was Purisima? 

PNP generals offered slightly different versions of why he was absent. One said he was getting a check-up, while another said he was confined in the hospital. For what reason, they didn’t elaborate. Another said Purisima was actually at Camp Crame that day, and even attended the ceremony of one general’s retirement the same day. Something’s afoot, insiders whisper.

Well, ultimately it’s the President’s problem. Roxas and Purisima are two of his most trusted people, and unlike previous PNP chiefs before him Purisima enjoys a direct line to Malacañang. Which probably isn’t helping his relationship with Roxas.

 The looting of the ‘Boracay Mansion’ 

It’s been years since the famous Boracay Mansion in New Manila was looted and practically stripped of its luxury. Now it can be told that the stripping was done systematically and with the permission of its owners.

The pick-up of materials and items taken from the house was scheduled “after 11 pm on weekdays” so that less people would notice, informants say. It was very deliberate. The information jibes with previous stories from neighborhood residents.

Some of those who were fortunate enough to participate in the hakot or hauling of expensive and not-so-expensive stuff were “batang San Juan.” Our informant says, “Pati electrical nadale (They even took out electrical materials). That would only mean they had lots of time.”  

Up to today, no one – whether from San Juan or anywhere else – has come forward to claim the multi-million-peso property which the Quezon City government has taken over. Neither has anyone dared to bid for it in what is clearly choice location. – Rappler.com

If you have information to share, email investigative@rappler.com.