PNP lifestyle check to start with the ‘stars’

ROXAS

The Philippine National Police (PNP) on Friday vowed to adhere to lifestyle checks on all policemen, following allegations that a few bad guys within its ranks have acquired ill-gotten wealth through illegal activities.

In a statement, the PNP said it will comply with a “top-to-bottom lifestyle check” as part of its anticorruption efforts and “in the interest of transparency and accountability.”

PNP spokesperson Chief Supt. Reuben Theodore Sindac said a technical working group composed of representatives from the PNP’s Internal Affairs Service and the National Police Commission will devise the procedures of the lifestyle check.

“This is to ensure objectivity and attain the procedure in fighting and eliminating corruption,” the official said.

PURISIMA

Sindac said those of star rank or police generals will be the first to undergo the lifestyle check.

“This serves as an opportunity to protect the good name of the organization by eliminating suspicions and speculation of alleged ill-gotten wealth or involvement in criminal activities,” the police official said.

Interior Secretary Mar Roxas recently ordered a lifestyle check on the 148,000-strong police force after a police official involved in the Sept. 1 robbery abduction incident was found to have a net worth of P6.1 million but has an annual salary of only P605,133.

The lifestyle check would initially cover high-ranking police officials, like PNP chief Director Gen. Alan Purisima, and policemen found to have millions of pesos in assets.

Attention had been drawn to the PNP in recent weeks after the involvement of around 10 Quezon City policemen in the P2-million robbery of two employees of a Lanao-based contractor on Sept. 1.

The incident was captured on camera by a motorist and uploaded on Twitter, eventually going viral on social media.