Camp Crame ‘White House’ donors named

PNP Director General Alan Purisima. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines—The deed of donation for the controversial “White House” in Camp Crame was executed only upon completion of the official quarters of the Philippine National Police chief.

In a statement, the PNP said the deed of donation, in which three donors were named, was done after the finishing touches and improvements were over.

“A deed of donation can only be executed once the structure is completed,” said PNP spokesperson Chief Supt. Reuben Theodore Sindac on Friday.

In the deed signed Sept. 3, the three donors were Carlos Gonzales of Ulticon Builders, lawyer Alexander Lopez of Pacific Concrete Corp. and Christopher Pastrana of CAPP Industries, with Purisima as recipient.

Sindac said the new official quarter of PNP chief Director General Alan Purisima, which cost P11,462,745.39 in donations, is “above board and not a real property” of the PNP chief.

It is a “tangible asset of the PNP that will be issued to future chiefs of the PNP,” the PNP spokesperson said.

The “White House” was a “design and build project in line with the donors’ corporate social responsibility and was meant to replace the old quarters, which was damaged in 2009 during the onslaught of Tropical Storm “Ondoy.”

In February 2013, a flood assessment of the Department of Public Works and Highways showed that the location of the White House at the north eastern block of Camp Crame is a catch basin in times of heavy rains.

Sindac said they also considered the donors’ privacy and security issues and that their identity could not be immediately revealed.

“There was no urgency at the start, but due to the controversies that were raised, we had to expedite the processing of the deed of donation to comply with the auditing requirements,” the official said.

The Commission on Audit requires that there be a delivery and acceptance of the project from the donor to the recipient, before it could be considered as a donated asset through a deed of donation.

Sindac explained that the deed of donation could not be executed if the subject property is not absolutely finished and that the deed of donation was explained prior to the submission of the document to the Senate.

RELATED STORY

Roxas bares list of ‘White House’ donors