Philippine National Police (PNP) Director General Alan Purisima during the 34th Association of Southeast Asian Nations Chiefs of Police (ASEANAPOL) Conference at the Luzon Ballroom of the Sofitel Philippine Plaza in Roxas Boulevard, Pasay City on Tuesday (May 13, 2014). (MNS photo)
MANILA (Mabuhay) -– Philippine National Police (PNP) chief Director General Alan Purisima on Tuesday admitted that he owns a 4.7-hectare property in San Leonardo, Nueva Ecija.
Speaking before the Senate Committee on Public Order and Dangerous Drugs, Purisima admitted that he owns the property, which is now the subject of a plunder complaint against him.
Purisima said he bought the lot in 1998 for about P150,000 – when he was already in PNP – and started developing it in 2002.
He said the house built inside the lot was about 204 square meters big. Senator Grace Poe, however, noted that the infrastructure inside the property looked much bigger because of several outhouses.
Purisima is facing two plunder and graft complaints over his allegedly unexplained wealth, including the multimillion property in Nueva Ecija and another poultry business.
Critics say Purisima undervalued the property in his Statement of Assets, Liabilities and Net Worth (SALN). The PNP chief put the fair market value of the mansion at P3.7 million in his SALN, but his complainants say the property’s actual price could go beyond P50 million.
Purisima explained that the assessor put the value of his house at P1.7 million. This later ballooned to P3.7 million due to construction costs.
Purisima is also facing an indirect bribery complaint over the renovation of the controversial ”White House”, the official residence of the PNP chief inside Camp Crame.
It was earlier revealed by Interior Secretary Mar Roxas that three private entities contributed P11 million for the repair and renovation of the White House.
Critics say this constitutes indirect bribery because the private individuals who contributed to the property’s renovation may have vested interests.(MNS)