PNoy, Purisima: Standing by each other

MANILA, Philippines - Through coup attempts, bruising election campaigns and corruption scandals, they have stood by each other.

Despite controversies including the recent covert operation of elite police forces in Maguindanao, three plunder and graft charges and other allegations of corruption, suspended Philippine National Police (PNP) chief Director General Alan Purisima still seems to enjoy the trust of President Aquino.

The President himself said that he had Purisima explain to him the “intricacies” of the mission in Mamasapano, Maguindanao, which left 44 members of the Special Action Force (SAF) dead.

Aquino admitted he and Purisima knew of the SAF operation despite the latter’s six-month preventive suspension, as ordered by the Office of he Ombudsman in December 2014, while Interior Secretary Manuel Roxas II and PNP officer-in-charge Deputy Director General Leonardo Espina were kept in the dark.

Relieved SAF commander Director Getulio Napeñas said he was reporting directly to Purisima, and that the suspended chief ordered him not to inform Espina of the operation until his troops had entered Mamasapano.

Purisima’s relationship with the President, which dates back to 1987, goes beyond just professional and political ties.

Purisima was a commanding officer of the Presidential Security Group (PSG) during the coup-riddled administration of Aquino’s late mother Corazon.

Purisima was part of the security team of then presidential son Noynoy Aquino when the latter was wounded in an airborne attack during the 1987 coup. Aquino still has bullet fragments from that attack embedded in his neck.

After his stint at the PSG, Purisima was assigned as SAF operations officer, a position he held until 1991.

He became director of the National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO) in May 2011. Less than two years later, in December 2012, he was appointed by Aquino as chief of the PNP.

“Buhat noon, hindi na po matatawaran ang aming naging samahan at ugnayan; wala man sa poder o katungkulan, alam naming masasandigan namin ang isa’t-isa tungo sa tuwid at tama para sa ating mga kababayan (Since then, there can be no disputing our friendship; even if we are no longer in office, we know we stand by each other on the straight path, in service to our countrymen),” the President had said during the PNP change of command ceremony.

Amid allegations of corruption being hurled against Purisima since last year, Aquino remained on good terms with the police chief, even vouching for his character.

Aquino had said he does not know Purisima “to be luxurious or greedy.”

Purisima supposedly profited from an anomalous deal in Camp Crame, and he had allegedly undervalued his “mansion” in Nueva Ecija.

Reports also claim that the construction of the White House, Purisima’s official residence inside the national police headquarters, was “suspicious.”

The PNP claimed that the White House, initially reported to have cost P25 million, was constructed through “donated materials from benevolent persons and organizations.”

Meanwhile, Purisima’s vacation house in Nueva Ecija, which has a gazebo and swimming pool, was said to be “ordinary,” contrary to reports that describe it as a luxury mansion.

The President even lauded Purisima for opening his 4.7-hectare Nueva Ecija property to the media.