Purisima back? ‘Disturbing,’ says group

“Disturbing.” That’s how militant group Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (Bayan) reacted to news that Philippine National Police Director General Alan Purisima will return to work after being suspended over corruption charges and being implicated in the controversial Mamasapano operation.

READ: ‘Alan Purisima will be back on duty’

“That things appear ‘back to normal’ despite what transpired in the Mamasapano incident is truly disturbing and shows lack of accountability in our institutions,” Bayan Secretary General Renato Reyes Jr. said in a statement.

He pointed out that the PNP Board of Inquiry recommended the determination of criminal and administrative liabilities of officials involved in the operation, which left 44 policemen, 17 Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) fighters and five civilians dead.

Purisima, who was on preventive suspension for his involvement in an alleged anomalous contract between PNP and a courier service, was accused of directing the January 25 operation, dubbed “Oplan Exodus.”

READ: PNP chief Purisima suspension creates gap at the top

Reports said he ordered the operation despite being suspended as PNP chief. While Purisima earlier denied “direct participation,” President Benigno Aquino III confirmed that he consulted his close friend who helped him understand the “jargon” and the “intricacies” of the plan to arrest international terrorist ZUlkifli bin Hir, alias Marwan.

READ: Alan Purisima: Suspension prevented me from participating in ‘Oplan Exodus’

Malacañang said there was nothing wrong or illegal in the President’s decision to consult Purisima.

READ: Aquino-Purisima consultation on SAF operation not illegal–Palace 

But Aquino himself said Purisima, who resigned as PNP chief in February, let him down by giving misleading information during the actual operation.

READ: Aquino: Purisima let me down

“What will Aquino do now  that his friend Alan Purisima is back on duty since   the latter’s suspension is over?” Reyes asked. “Will Aquino continue to consult him even if he has resigned as PNP Chief? Will Purisima continue to enjoy protection insofar as the Mamasapano incident is concerned?”

The Bayan secretary general also raised the possibility of Purisima’s return affecting Aquino’s choice for the next PNP chief.

“Will Purisima continue to receive his salary and benefits even if his actual function is in limbo?” Reyes added.

The BOI report, released in March, said Purisima violated the Ombudsman’s preventive suspension order and Special Order no. 9851, which directed him to cease and desist performing PNP chief duties, by being involved in “Oplan Exodus.”

READ: Aquino, Napeñas violated PNP chain of command—BOI report

Purisima’s six-month preventive suspension was ordered by the Ombudsman last December 4.

PNP Deputy Director General Leonardo Espina said Purisima will now be under the Personnel Holding and Administrative Unit since he relinquished his post.