By Jefferson Antiporda/Manila Times
Philippine National Police (PNP) chief Alan Purisima finally surfaced at the Senate yesterday but he failed to convince senators that there was nothing irregular in his acquisition of a four-hectare property in Nueva Ecija or in the declarations he made in his Statement of Assets Liabilities and Networth (SALN).
Purisima also said he will not step down.
Speaking during the hearing called by the Senate Committee on Public Order and Dangerous Drug, Purisima admitted that he owns the controversial rest house in San Leonardo Nueva Ecija. He said he acquired the 4.7-hectare property in 1998 for P150,000.
According to him, the construction of the house with a floor area of 240 square metres started in 2002. The house was declared in his SALN with a fair market value of P3,750,000.
But Sen. Grace Poe, who chairs the committee, said the house could cost more.
“I’m not convinced that he is telling the truth entirely or he is revealing the entire truth. Maybe there is partial truth but not the entire truth,” Poe told reporters after the hearing. During the hearing, Poe asked Purisima how he and his wife managed to pay for the construction of the house when their joint monthly income was only a little over P100,000.
Purisima explained that the house was built “little by little” and that they used their savings in the construction of the house.
The PNP chief also failed to give details about his trucking business.
Purisima declared a networth of P17.2mn in his SALN. He listed four houses in Caloocan City and Nueva Ejica and a condominium unit in Cubao Quezon City. He also owns a lot in Ilocos Sur but he provided no details.
The chief PNP also owns a total of five vehicles —
Toyota Land Cruiser, Toyota Alphard, Toyota Hi-Lux, Toyota Innova and Hyundai Starex and various types of heavy equipment.
As to the “White House” controversy, Purisima said three donors shouldered the construction of a new structure in Camp Crame, the national headquarters of the police force.
Based on the “Absolute Deed of Donation” presented by Purisima, the donors were Carlos Gonzales of Ulticon Builders, lawyer Alexander Lopez of Pacific Concrete Corp and Christopher Pastrana of CAPP Industries.
When asked why the deed was signed only on September 3, 2014, the PNP chief said he ordered the drafting of the deed only recently because the donors wanted to remain anonymous.
Poe said Purisima should have followed the process in dealing with donations to avoid suspicion on the intent of the donors. She added that the PNP chief should have asked the donors to improve the PNP instead.
“The chief PNP gave more priority to the construction of the White House instead of the health of the police officers,” Poe said.
The committee also tackled other controversies hounding the PNP chief, the issuance of gun licence, worsening criminality as well as competence and integrity of the institution. But these were dismissed by Purisima, who said they were part of a demolition job by his critics.
