Purisima acquitted of perjury over alleged SALN misdeclaration
MANILA, Philippines — The Sandiganbayan 2nd Division has acquitted former Philippine National Police Chief Alan Purisima of perjury charges filed over his alleged failure to completely disclose his wealth, reports have said.
The anti-graft court ruled that prosecutors failed to present sufficient evidence that the country's former top cop neglected to disclose full properties in his Statements of Assets, Liabilities and Net Worth filed from 2006 to 2009 and 2011 to 2014, radio station DZMM reported on Friday morning.
A copy of the full decision is yet to be released.
On January 21, the Sandiganbayan also dropped graft and usurpation charges against Purisima and former Special Action Force (SAF) director Getulio Napeñas Jr. in relation to the "Mamasapano massacre", which involved the deaths of 44 SAF members during a botched police operation against rebels groups in Mamasapano, Maguindanao in January 2015.
The clash led to a public outcry and prompted Purisima to resign as police chief in February 2015, which former president Benigno Aquino III accepted.
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Four months after his resignation as PNP's head, Purisima was ordered dismissed by the Office of the Ombudsman from service in connection to an anomalous P100-million contract covering the delivery of gun licenses. Purisima appealed that decision, but lost before the Court of Appeals.
The appellate court, in its ruling dated May 12, 2017, said Purisima was “complicit in making it appear that Werfast Documentation Agency Inc. is a qualified courier service provider of PNP and that its appointment as the sole courier service provider of PNP is relation to applications/renewal of firearm licenses proceeded in accordance with the law, rules and regulations.”
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