Group hits P25-M renovation of PNP ‘White House’

MANILA, Philippines - An anti-crime group questioned yesterday the reported donation made by the Free and Accepted Masons of the Philippines for the renovation of the Philippine National Police (PNP) chief’s official residence at Camp Crame.

The “White House” reportedly cost P25 million to renovate. The official residence is painted white, hence its name.

The Volunteers Against Crime and Corruption, led by Dante Jimenez, described the donation as “immoral and untimely, and not a priority expense. Only the PNP chief will benefit from the White House.”

PNP spokesman Chief Superintendent Reuben Theodore Sindac earlier said the two-story structure is actually a donation of PNP chief Director General Alan Purisima’s friends among the Masons.

“But there was no cash donation. The assistance came in the form of construction materials and labor,” he said.

Jimenez said if the renovation was donated by the Masons, the PNP could have used the money to “buy additional equipment for its personnel who are in need of firearms, mobile cars and even boots.”

He appealed to President Aquino and Interior and Local Government Secretary Mar Roxas to look into the issue and audit the donation.

A source earlier told The STAR that the actual cost of the renovation was P20 million and the reason given was the damage caused by Typhoon Ondoy.

Although Ondoy struck in 2009, the renovation was undertaken only recently as Purisima’s predecessors did not stay at the White House.