Group questions donations for Crame ‘White House’ restoration

The PNP “White House” (Photo courtesy of www.purisimaplunder.com)

MANILA, Philippines – Donations used for restoration and renovation of Philippine National Police (PNP) Chief Director General Alan Purisima’s ‘White House’ was criticized by a private organization.

Interior Secretary Manuel “Mar” Roxas revealed during a Senate hearing that Purisima’s controversial ‘White House,’ which costs around P11 million, was restored and repaired through money aid given by three donors from private sectors.

The total construction cost of the mansion at Camp Crame was P11,462,745.39 donated by Carlos Gonzales of ULTICON Builders, Atty. Alexander Lopez of Pacific Concrete Corporation, and Christopher Pastrana of CAPP Industries.

The businessmen guaranteed that they had no underlying private interests with the donation. Their sole purpose was to support the institution.

Still, Coalition of Filipino Consumers (CFC), a private organization, disagreed with Purisima’s acceptance of the donation and believed that it was against the law.

“Kapag it ay isang proyekto ng gobyerno na galling sa donasyon, ito ay labag sa batas. Maaari kasing gamitin yung kanilang posisyon para sa anumang pakiusap ng mga nag-donate,” CFC Secretary General Perfecto Jaime Tagalog said in an interview.

He also said that many local precincts and police barracks’ repairs needed to be prioritized first rather than the PNP chief’s official residence.

“Hindi napapanahon para i-renovate ang White House. Mas maraming dapat unahin ang chief PNP, tulad ng mga barracks ng kapulisan. I went to Ifugao, kung uubo ka halos magigiba na ang barracks ng kapulisan,” Tagalog said.

“Para magpatayo ka ng magarbong mansion sa Crame eh ‘di nakakatulong sa hanay ng kapulisan. Napakaraming rank and file na nangangailangan,” he added.

Senator Grace Poe also queried the PNP as the deed of donation was only signed last September but the restoration was already finished last February.

“Tapos na ang istraktura bago naibigay ang donasyon, talagang may malaking pagkukulang doon o pagtatakip,” she said.

Amid the controversy, Senator Poe recommended Purisima’s administrative leave to retain the confidence and trust of those ruled by the PNP chief. She also believed that the institution is worth saving in terms of the morale of the police officers.

“So I hope at the very least without saying anyone is guilty, an administrative leave will send a good message just like there are certain senators here who had to be suspended so that they would not influence their office while the trail is going on,” Senator Poe said.