Palace: No need for PNP chief to explain crime surge

MANILA, Philippines - As far as Malacañang is concerned, there is no more need for embattled Philippine National Police (PNP) chief Director General Alan Purisima to explain the resurgence of crimes as well as the alleged involvement of policemen in criminal activities, an official said yesterday.

“Let us go by what the President said the last time that he was asked about PNP chief Purisima,” deputy presidential spokesperson Abigail Valte said, adding that questions about the rise in crime have been addressed adequately.

She said the PNP has designated spokespersons and “we leave that to his better judgment if he (Purisima) will personally comment on it.”

Valte also shot down proposals to revive capital punishment to deter heinous crimes, reiterating that Aquino himself had cast doubt on the certainty of the guilt of criminals, wherein the vulnerability of the justice system punishes the innocent and lets go of the real culprits.

Purisima won’t get axed

Aquino categorically turned down last week calls for him to fire Purisima in light of the resurgence of crimes, the most daring of which was the kidnap-robbery by rogue policemen along EDSA.

He said police officers also caught the rogue policemen. A photo of the incident, uploaded by a Twitter user, was used to track down the cars used in the kidnap-robbery.

Under the leadership of Purisima – reportedly a very close friend of Aquino from way back, during the presidency of Aquino’s late mother – the PNP underwent a “transformation” that was not limited to firearms upgrade, but to a culture of solving crimes, the President said.