MANILA, Philippines – Philippine National Police chief Director General Raul Bacalzo said on Wednesday that he cannot fire any officer allegedly involved in buying the two second-hand Robinson R44 helicopters without seeing the results of the on-going police investigation first.
Earlier, Interior and Local Government Secretary Jesse Robredo asked Bacalzo to bring up charges against those found to be involved in the controversial transaction.
Bacalzo said the investigating team has yet to determine the individual liabilities of those involved, before they could be charged. But he vowed that everyone involved in the anomaly would be investigated.
The results of the investigation would then determine who gets relieved from duty, the PNP chief said.
Robredo , for his part, pointed to the former PNP chief Jesus Verzosa, who had approved the P104.9 purchase in 2009, and members of the PNP acceptance/inspection committee, namely, Chief Superintendent George Piano, Senior Superintendent Luis Saligumba, Senior Superintendent Nolan Antonio, and Superintendent Edgar Paatan.
Robredo claimed that property inspector Police Officer 3 Avensuel Dy, and chief of the Management Division of the Directorate for Comptrollership Senior Superintendent Mansue Lukban,, signed the inspection report form for the Director for Comptrollership.
Bacalzo reiterated that he had given the Directorate for Investigation and Detective Management up until Friday to wrap up its probe into the transaction, so that it can be endorsed to the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group(CIDG).
The two PNP Light Police Operational Helicopters (LPOH) were bought as ‘brand new’ aircraft from the Manila Aerospace Products Trading Corporation (Maptra), to be used by the PNP Special Action Force.
The units had been grounded ever since the first maintenance check early this year when officers found the helicopters already had 500 flying hours in them, dating back as much as five years.