Palace expects PNP chief to answer allegations against him

MANILA, Philippines - Malacañang is expecting Philippine National Police (PNP) chief Director Gen. Alan Purisima to respond to the allegations against him despite his alleged close relationship with President Benigno Aquino III.

“The president has always maintained that if there are allegations filed before a court, the person should answer,” Presidential Spokesman Edwin Lacierda told reporters in a press conference on Tuesday.

Lacierda said PNP spokesperson Chief Superintendent Reuben Theodore Sindac has given an assurance that Purisima would answer the accusations in the proper forum.

“We will leave it at that,” he said.  

Lacierda stressed that the statement of assets and liabilities and net worth of any official can be subjected to scrutiny.

A member of Philippine Military Academy class ’81, Purisima served as a member of the Presidential Security Group during the time of President Corazon Aquino, the mother of the incumbent president.

Purisima was with the younger Aquino when his convoy was ambushed in a failed coup attempt against his mother in 1987.

On Monday, consumer group Coalition of Filipino Consumers (CFC) filed plunder, graft and direct bribery charges against Purisima before the Ombudsman for allegedly amassing ill-gotten wealth and receiving bribes for the building of a mansion in Camp Crame.

CFC claimed Purisima had admitted receiving money and construction materials from his Mason brothers for the construction of his official residence at the Camp Crame police headquarters.

The group also accused Purisima of hiding the true value of his alleged mansion in Nueva Ecija.

ABS-CBN show “Failon Ngayon” has also reported that Purisima had undeclared properties in San Leonardo town and Cabanatuan City in Nueva Ecija and in Dasmariñas, Cavite.

Even before Purisima was accused of amassing ill-gotten wealth, some groups have called for his removal from office due to a surge in crimes involving policemen.

Aquino, however, has rejected such calls and maintained that Purisima was doing well in the drive against crime.

“Under the leadership of General Purisima, the rogue cops were caught and investigated by their colleagues themselves,” Aquino said in a speech early this month.

“In the past, if we identify the culprit, it looks okay but under Purisima, it is not enough to identify the suspects but to go further in prosecuting them,” he added.

Aquino even criticized the media for its alleged bias in reporting crimes.