Mar bares donors of P11.4-M Crame house

MANILA, Philippines - The house costs P11.4 million, and at least three private donors shouldered the expenses.

Interior Secretary Manuel Roxas II identified yesterday the individuals who contributed funds for the construction of the official residence of the Philippine National Police (PNP) chief as questions swirled over the propriety of the donation.

During yesterday’s Senate hearing on the budget of the Department of the Interior and Local Government, Roxas said there were a number of donors in the construction of the so-called White House, the official residence of the PNP chief at Camp Crame, initially reported to have cost P20 million.

Roxas identified Carlos Gonzales of Ulticon Builders, lawyer Alexander Lopez of Pacific Concrete Corp. and Christopher Pastrana of CAPP Industries as the donors and PNP chief Director General Alan Purisima as the recipient of the renovated official residence.

Roxas said the PNP, through Director Rolando Purugganan, has submitted a letter to the resident auditor of the
Commission on Audit, explaining the issue.

Quoting the letter, Roxas said a total of P11.4 million was spent for the project and a number of donations were received for this purpose.

Roxas submitted to Sen. Francis Escudero, chairman of the Senate finance committee, the deed of donation for the construction of the White House.

In the deed of donation, Ulticon Builders, Pacific Concrete Corp. and CAPP Industries stated that the building would be given by the donors to the donee (Purisima) as the exclusive official residence of the chief PNP.

It was also stated in the deed of donation, signed on Sept. 3, 2014, that the donors “have no business interests in the PNP and do not intend or expect to have business relationship with the PNP, but are making the donation for the sole purpose of supporting the PNP.”

As early as June this year, the renovation/construction of the residence of the PNP chief was already being questioned after it was revealed that the price tag for the project was P20 million.

It was reported the renovation was undertaken because the structure was badly damaged by Typhoon Ondoy in 2009.

While saying there appears to be nothing wrong with the receipt of donations, Roxas said this would be appropriate as long as it was not for the personal use of the individual.

Roxas, however, gave assurance the background of the donors would be reviewed thoroughly to determine if they had other transactions with the government.

“What is important here is that there would be no undue influence by any one of those that donated these things,” Roxas said.

Roxas said the National Police Commission is in the process of entering into memorandums of agreement with the Bureau of Internal Revenue and the Office of the Ombudsman for the conduct of lifestyle checks on PNP officials.

Purisima, meanwhile, allegedly accumulated wealth that he could not explain and were not reflected in his statement of assets, liabilities and net worth (SALN).

Purisima is also involved in the controversy over the construction of the White House.

This was followed by a series of conflicting statements, including an explanation that the structure was merely being renovated and certain groups or individuals provided donations.

Go on leave

Sen. Grace Poe told Roxas to allow Purisima to go on administrative leave while the investigation regarding his unexplained wealth and other allegations is ongoing.

According to Poe, the reputation of the PNP has taken a huge hit with allegations against Purisima as the leader of the organization.

“My feeling is we have to be able to protect the institution and it’s not saying that anybody’s guilty, but if there’s an issue and there seems to be some valid points, especially certain disparities in the SALN, it is a chance for him to be able to concentrate and defend himself and building a case to protect himself by taking perhaps a leave,” Poe said.

“So I hope that at the very least, without saying that anybody is guilty, administrative leave will send a good message, just like there are certain senators here who have to be suspended so that they don’t influence their office while their trial is going on,” she added.

Poe encouraged Roxas to make the recommendation to President Aquino so that the investigations being conducted by the Office of the Ombudsman and the other agencies could go unimpeded.– Alexis Romero, Cecille Suerte Felipe