PNP top brass suspended over courier, gun deals

MANILA, Philippines - The Office of the Ombudsman yesterday ordered the suspension of Philippine National Police chief Director General Alan Purisima and 17 other PNP officials involved in a courier service contract and missing rifles.

Ombudsman Conchita Carpio-Morales ordered Interior and Local Government Secretary Manuel Roxas II to immediately implement the six-month suspension order against Purisima and the police officials and submit compliance reports within five days.

Malacañang said they would obey the suspension orders on Purisima and the others.

“The government shall abide by the decision of the Ombudsman pertaining to the administrative case against Police Director General Alan Purisima and other senior PNP officials,” Press Secretary Herminio Coloma Jr. said.

“We are a government of laws and not of men,” he added.

Coloma said they would implement the administrative sanction against Purisima and do what is necessary to comply with the Ombudsman’s directives.

“Under the rules, the suspension order will be conveyed to the DILG who is tasked to implement the same,” he said.

Roxas, for his part, said he would comment on the issue as soon as his department receives the suspension order.

“I have not yet seen the order and will withhold comment until then,” he said.

Apart from Purisima, the others ordered suspended were PNP Firearms and Explosives Office (FEO) head Chief Superintendent Raul Petrasanta; Senior Superintendents Allan Parreno, Edurado Acierto, Melchor Reyes, Lenbell Fabia; Superintendent Sonia Calixto; Chief Inspectors Nelson Bautista, Ricardo Zapata; and Senior Inspector Ford Tuazon.

They were ordered suspended for their alleged involvement in a supposedly questionable and overpriced gun license delivery deal with a private courier service company called Werfast Documentary Agency in 2011.

In October, the ombudsman announced the creation of a special panel of investigators to look into the criminal and administrative complaints filed by the anti-graft agency’s Fact-Finding Investigation Bureau (FFIB).

The fact-finding probe stemmed from an anonymous complaint alleging Purisima and other PNP officials and personnel siphoned funds from the mandatory delivery fees paid by gun owners in securing their gun licenses by entering into a memorandum of agreement with Werfast for courier services in the delivery of firearms license cards.

Investigators said due to the lack of track record and logistical capability, Werfast engaged the services of LBC and “collected P190.00 for deliveries within Metro Manila and P290 (for those) outside of Metro Manila,” when “other courier services providers charge only P90.00 within Metro Manila.” 

Based on FEO records, 90,455 firearms license cards were issued for delivery from March 2013 to March 2014.

Morales also issued separate six-month preventive suspension orders against Petrasanta, Parreno, Acierto, Bautista, and Zapata for their involvement in the case of missing AK-47 assault rifles allegedly sold to New People’s Army (NPA) rebels.

Included in the second set of suspended PNP officials and officers were Chief Superintendent Regino Catiis; Chief Inspectors Ricky Sumalde and Rodrigo Benedicto Sarmiento; Senior Police Officers Eric Tan and Randy de Sesto; and non-uniformed personnel Nora Pirote, Sol Bargan, and Enrique de la Cruz.

In the case of the missing AK-47s, those under probe are facing criminal and administrative charges based on the report by the PNP – Criminal Investigation and Detection Group on July 17, 2014 revealing that four private security agencies and a mining company applied and were issued firearms licenses by the FEO using falsified and incomplete documentary requirements.

Based on the PNP-FEO database, 1,004 licensed firearms were released through the submission of incomplete and or falsified applications submitted by Isidro Lozada, owner of Caraga Security Agency, who purchased the firearms from Twin Pines Inc. which, in turn, facilitated and submitted the falsified and/or incomplete license applications of Lozada to the PNP-FEO.

The CIDG report was also able to validate information that the firearms matching the serial numbers of the licensed AK-47s issued to the security agencies and mining company were recovered from encounters between the military and NPA rebels in the Caraga and Western Mindanao regions.

Former police officials Gil Meneses, Napoleon Estilles and Tomas Rentoy II were also covered by the suspension orders but which were deemed null since they are no longer in the police service.

Ombudsman spokesman Asryman Rafanan said the PNP officials slapped with preventive suspension orders are facing criminal investigation for graft and other offenses.

However, the suspensions stemmed from the administrative complaints against them that include grave misconduct and serious dishonesty, Rafanan explained.

Preventive suspension orders are issued by the Office of the Ombudsman not as a penalty but as a way to prevent respondents in an administrative case from using their positions to influence the probe or even tamper with documents or evidence.

In approving the preventive suspensions, the ombudsman said “the bulk of material evidence in the custody of the PNP, and given the power and authority attached to the respondents’ positions, there is strong probability that they may influence witnesses or tamper with any evidence material to the case.”

Pursuant to the rules, the anti-graft agency said the suspensions orders, signed by Morales on Nov. 26 and Dec. 3, can be appealed through a motion for reconsideration but can only be stopped by temporary restraining order (TRO).

Purisima, for his part, said he would avail of all legal remedies regarding his suspension order.

Purisima is attending a security conference in Saudi Arabia. He left last Wednesday and scheduled to return on Dec. 9.

PNP spokesman Chief Superintendent Wilben Mayor said the police legal service branch and Purisima’s lawyers are studying the case for any legal remedy available.

“The PNP respects the decision of the Ombudsman. We will exhaust necessary available legal remedies on the matter. It will depend on legal service group to act on that,” Mayor said. – Delon Porcalla, Cecille Suerte Felipe, Christina Mendez, Paolo Romero, Ric Sapnu