SAN LEONARDO, Philippines – Philippine National Police chief Director General Alan Purisima allowed media yesterday to inspect his controversial house on a 4.5-hectare property here in Nueva Ecija that was reportedly worth P50 million but which the PNP chief claimed to be worth only P4 million.
Purisima was not around to welcome reporters, photographers and cameramen from newspapers, radio and television stations and foreign news agencies, but the police chief’s relatives led by his cousin lawyer Tito Purisima gave the media group a tour of the 3,000-square-meter compound where the 204-square-meter main house is located.
The compound is part of the 4.5-hectare property of Purisima in Barangay Magpapalayok in San Leonardo town.
Aside from the main house, there is a two-story guesthouse with four rooms, a gazebo and a 7.5-meter by 15-meter swimming pool.
The swimming pool is apparently poorly maintained since algae had already formed on the walls of the pool.
The main house includes a master’s bedroom, three regular rooms and a room in the attic, a kitchen and a dirty kitchen. There is a 21-inch flat television set, a four-door refrigerator, an Italian oven and a gas range. The house has no receiving area but has an eight-seat dining table.
Pieces of old wood like narra and apitong make up most of the structure. The doors in all the rooms are made of two-inch thick narra.
The guesthouse has a mini-bar and four bedrooms, two on the ground floor and another two on the second floor.
The roof of the gazebo is made of anahaw leaves while the posts are made of old cut trees.
The PNP chief’s cousin Tito said the property was acquired at a minimal price because the entire property is flood-prone, noting that the main rest house was constructed in an elevated area.
“There was an instance when there was one-foot deep flood inside the house,” Tito added.
Members of the media passed through the first gate of the property and another gate for the main rest house that was surrounded by a concrete fence that looked liked a wooden fence.
Near the second gate was the covered garage, which could accommodate five vehicles. The garage also has drivers’ quarters.
Some 21 vehicles of news teams and policemen left Camp Crame in Quezon City at around 5:30 a.m. and arrived in San Leonardo at 9 a.m. The PNP chief’s property is about five kilometers from the town proper.
PNP spokesman Senior Superintendent Wilben Mayor, who accompanied the media men to Purisima’s property, said the PNP chief’s house is just ordinary and not a mansion as earlier reported.
Purisima’s relatives also emphasized that the property was just ordinary.
“It’s for you to judge now if this is really a mansion. And as you enter the house, you will also see if the materials used for the construction are expensive or not. The fence on the terrace is made of tubular. Lata lang ito,” said Tito.
“They said that the house itself is worth P30 to P50 million. But can we compare this to houses in Forbes Park, Dasmariñas, Urdaneta, Magallanes, Corinthian Village and Green Meadows?” he added.
Three caretakers are residing in the property to maintain the house and the grounds.
In a statement, the PNP chief said he invited members of media to personally see his property in the interest of transparency as he appealed for fair and objective reporting.
“By inviting the media, it is my hope that some questions related to my property would be put to rest,” said Purisima.
“As reporters could see, this property is no mansion by any standard. It is an ordinary house, as ordinary as the other concrete houses that you would see in the neighborhood,” Purisima said.
Purisima is facing plunder and graft charges for the 4.5-hectare property.
The PNP chief’s relatives said Purisima built the house using money he and his family earned through legitimate means.
The police chief also said the entire property has a market value between P2.337 million and P4 million, a far cry from reports that estimated it as high as P50 million.
Barangay Magpapalayok chairman Joselito Valmonte said the updated zonal value of land in the areas is estimated at P3 million for 2.5 hectares.
Purisima acquired the lot in 1998 from Leandro Gonzales who owns the Gonzales Hospital in San Leonardo. The house was constructed in 2002 and renovated in 2012. – With Manny Galvez