Entrepreneurial Farmer

Ombudsman Suspends PNP 

Chief Purisima

It does not matter who the person is if he violates and gravely violates the laws, legal orders, rules and regulations, he will be asked to answer and pay for the violations.

PNP Director General Alan LM Purisima and 14 other ranking police officers and those police employees are placed under preventive suspension for six (6) months without pay for their alleged sales of AK-47 assualt rifles to the communist rebels and for hiring the services of courier for the door-to-door delivery of firearms licenses in a contract alleged to be anomalous according to the report published in the Manila Bulletin, Dec. 5, 2014 issues.

The suspension order from the Ombudsman came when General Purisima was out of the Philippines on Wednsday, Dec. 3, 2014. He was in Saudi Arabia for one week travel. Hence, Gen. Purisima is “out of town, out of post.” Purisima went to Saudi Arabia to meet with law enforcement officials to promote cooperation against transnational crimes. He will return on Tuesday, Dec. 9 according to Chief Supt. Wilben Mayor, PNP spokesperson. But Purisima, the most powerful man in the PNP will arrive in the Philippines without his post in the PNP.

The suspension orders were transmitted by Ombudsman Conchita Carpio to DILG Sec. Mar Roxas for implementation within five days. Malacanang Palace reacted to the order, “it will comply with Ombudsman’s order.”

Other officials who are suspended with General Purisima for allegedly contracting the services of WERFAST are: Chief Supt. Raul Petrasanta, Allan Parreno, Eduardo Acierto, Melchor Reyes, Lenbell Fabia, Sonia Calisto, Chief Inspectors Nelson Bautista, Ford Tuazon, and Ricardo Zapata. Due to their respective retirements, three police Directors are excluded from the suspension order. They are police Directors Gil Meneses and Chief Supt. Napoleon Estilles and Tomas Rentoy II.

“Purisima’s suspension stemmed from his alleged participation in the controversial WERFAST courier service contract,” said Deputy Ombudsman Asryman Rafanan. Their suspension will stay pending result of the administrative investigation.

The investigation on WERFAST started from an anonymous complaint stating that Purisima and other PNP Officials pocketed the money from the mandatory delivery fees gun owners paid in securing their gun licenses via an agreement entered into by the PNP in the delivery of firearms license cards.

“While other delivery service companies charged only an average delivery fee of less than P100, WERFAST charged much higher delivery rate of P190 within Metro Manila and P290 for the provincial deliveries,” initial findings show.

AK-47 Riffles Sales

In the case of the alleged missing and sale of AK-47 rifles to the New Peoples Army rebels, suspended are Police Chief Supts. Petrasanto and Regino Catiis, Police Supts. Eduardo Acierto, Allan Parreno, Nelson Bautista, Ricky Sumalde, Chief Inspectors Ricardo Zapata, and Rodrigo Sarmiento, SPO1 Eric Tan, and SPO1 Randy de Sesto and NCO Nora Pirate, Sol Bargan, and Erique Dela Cruz.

The recovery of some firearms by army soldiers from communist rebels in Mindanao who were either captured or killed in action in military skirmishes led to the investigation on the missing and sales of Russian made riffles.

The CIDG investigation shows that four private security agencies and a mining company were issued more than 1000 firearms licenses by the PNP through falsified application. According to the Omdudsman, the firearms recovered from the field matched with the serial numbers of rifles issued to the security agencies, according to the Manila Bulletin report.

Gen. Purisima’s six months suspension maybe taken as his early retirement for in November 2015 will be his mandatory retirement age.

Moreover, Gen. Purisima is facing another problem. He has still to answer the alleged corruption on the construction of the White House, the official residence of the PNP Chief inside Camp Crame. He must also justify and explain the source of funds or the manner of acquisition of his alleged undeclared property in Nueva Ecija. /MP