Purisima placed under six mos preventive suspension

Alan Purisima (Wikipedia photo)

MANILA – The Office of the Ombudsman has placed Director General Alan Purisima under a six-month preventive suspension because of an allegedly anomalous contract with a courier service for the delivery of PNP-issued gun licenses.

For the first time in the history of the police force, a PNP chief was suspended because of corruption allegations.

The allegation rooted from the alleged multimillion-peso contract awarded to Werfast Documentation Agency Inc., for the delivery of gun owners’ licenses.

The suspension order was issued by Ombudsman Conchita Carpio Morales for Purisima et al. while another suspension order without pay was issued to 13 other PNP officials for the alleged sale of AK-47 assault rifles to the communist New People’s Army rebels in Mindanao.

The said PNP officials allegedly “siphoned off the mandatory delivery fees” collected from gun owners for the delivery of their gun licenses, according to the Ombudsman’s Fact-finding Investigation Bureau.

The bureau added that a memorandum of agreement (MOA) was entered into by the PNP and the Werfast, “despite its nonaccreditation and having been incorporated only after the execution of the MOA, with a capitalization of only P65,000.

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“As per records of the Department of Science and Technology–Postal Regulation Committee, Werfast is not accredited to engage in courier services in the country,” the Ombudsman said.

“There were no records to show that Werfast established an online facility for applications for renewal of firearms license,” it added.

Meanwhile, Purisima was out of the country upon the release of the suspension order. Purisima left the country last Dec, 3 and is expected to return on Dec. 9.

“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,” Communications Secretary Herminio Coloma Jr. said.