PNP euro general named Cordillera Administrative Region chief

MANILA, Philippines - Philippine National Police officials have appointed to a top regional post a PNP officer who was linked to the alleged illegal release of 105,000 euros or P6.9 million that was seized by Russian authorities from retired police comptroller Director Eliseo de la Paz in a Moscow airport last October.

Chief Superintendent Orlando Pestaño, director of the PNP Finance Service, was designated yesterday as regional director of the Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR).

Pestaño replaced Chief Superintendent Eugene Martin, who was earlier designated as chief of the PNP Directorate for Intelligence replacing Director Dante Ferrer who retired last week upon reaching the mandatory retirement age of 56. The STAR tried to contact Pestaño but to no avail.

PNP spokesman Chief Superintendent Nicanor Bartolome said the case against De la Paz, Pestaño and the other police officials linked to release of the euros is now at the Office of the Ombudsman and pending the result of the investigation, there is no law that prohibits the PNP from appointing officers to certain positions.

“The case is now with the Office of the Ombudsman and pending their findings, there is no prohibition in appointing police officers (to certain positions),” Bartolome told The STAR.

The PNP Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) had forwarded all its records on the investigation on the De la Paz and the so-called “euro generals” to the Ombudsman.

De la Paz and his wife were held at a Moscow airport on Oct. 11, 2008 for carrying the undeclared euros, after they attended the 77th International Police (Interpol) General Assembly in St. Petersburg, Russia.

The other police officials in the PNP delegation to the Interpol meeting were Deputy Directors General Emmanuel Carta, Ismael Rafanan, Directors Romeo Ricardo, Silverio Alarcio, German Doria and Jaime Caringal, and Superintendent Elmer Pelobello, the aide of the delegation.

De la Paz and his wife were questioned at an airport in Moscow for carrying undeclared excess cash and during investigation by the PNP, Senate and the House of Representatives it was learned the money was released illegally from the PNP intelligence fund.

The PNP reported that Pestaño was the police officer who went to see De la Paz to confirm the latter’s request for P10 million for the allowance of the PNP delegation to 77th Interpol General Assembly in St. Petersburg.

Pestaño later gave the clearance to Superintendent Samuel Rodriguez, disbursing officer of the 14th Finance Service Office, to release the money.

Records showed that on Sept. 26, Senior Superintendent Tomas Rentoy III, chief of the Budget Division of Comptroller, was called by Rodriguez and was told that the PNP delegates to the Interpol need P10 million.

Rentoy claimed that the Notice of Fund Availability (NFA) had not yet been issued. Hence, there was an urgency that funds should be made available via cash advance so that the plane tickets could be paid and other requirements of the PNP delegation could be prepared.

Last month, De la Paz’s lawyer Noel Malaya claimed that the Russian government had already cleared his client and his wife of any criminal intent when they failed to declare the euros in their possession.

Malaya also noted that the 105,000 euros has been released by Moscow to the account of De la Paz’s Russian lawyer based in the capital.