President Benigno S. Aquino III (right) and Philippine National Police (PNP) Director General Alan Purisima. (Photo by Rey Baniquet / Malacañang Photo Bureau / PCOO)
MANILA, Philippines—Amid calls for the resignation of General Alan Purisima, Philippine National Police Chief, he continues to enjoy the trust of President Benigno Aquino III.
During Friday’s agenda setting dialogue in Malacañang, Aquino spurned calls demanding the resignation of Purisima over the recent involvement of cops over high-profile crimes like the case of the 10 policemen linked in the P2 million robbery-abduction on Edsa in Mandaluyong City last Sept. 1.
“Makatuwiran po bang pagbitiwin sa puwesto si General Purisima na namumuno sa mga pulis na ginagawa nang mahusay ang kanilang trabaho?” Aquino asked before Cabinet members, Congress allies, and ‘reform partners”.
(Is it right to dismiss General Purisima from his post when leads the police force and does his job dutifully?)
Aquino also said that Purisima contributed to the resolution of various high profile cases.
Scalawags
The president also admitted that there are scalawags in the police force, but raised that these rogue cops did not appear only during his term.
“Tanungin ko lang po: Ngayon lang ba lumitaw ang mga scalawags na ito o ngayon lang ba nagkaroon ng scalawags sa ating pong serbisyo? Totoong may scalawag, pero sino po ba ang nakahuli sa mga nang-hulidap sa EDSA? Mga pulis din po.”
(May I just ask: Is it only now that scalawags surfaced in the police force? It is true that there are scalawags, but who arrested those behind the “hulidap” on EDSA? The police.)
PNP transformed under Purisima
Aquino said that Purisima was able to transform the image of the PNP under his leadership.
“Ang totoo po, napakalaki na ng ipinagbago ng imahen ng atin pong kapulisan. Dala po ito ng transpormasyong nangyari sa kanilang hanay—hindi lang sa larangan ng kagamitan o sa pag-aaruga sa ating mga pulis, kundi pati na rin sa kulturang nagsisimula nang mamayani sa sistema.”
(The truth is, the image of the police force has significantly improved. This is due to the transformation within their ranks—not only in terms of equipment but also in the culture which has started to prevail in the system.)
The Volunteer Against Crime and Corruption on Tuesday demanded that Purisima resign from his post for “failed leadership” in connection to the Edsa robbery.
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