Suspended PNP general returns to work July 5, may be next PNP chief

As the preventive suspension of Chief Supt. Raul Petrasanta ends in July, the Philippine National Police will seek the Ombudsman’s advice if Petrasanta can be designated anew into active service.

The Directorate for Personnel and Records Management will ask the Ombudsman about the status of the cases against Petrasanta, who is facing two complaints before the Ombudsman.

“The DPRM is checking what really is the status of Petrasanta after the preventive suspension … The reply to that inquiry will determine what his status and designation will be or if he will return to his former designation,” said the PNP spokesperson, Chief Supt. Wilben Mayor.

Petrasanta was the police regional director for Central Luzon when the Office of the Ombudsman ordered his six-month preventive suspension for two complaints slapped against him and resigned Director General Alan Purisima, then the PNP chief.

These are the allegedly anomalous contract of the PNP with the Werfast Documentary Agency for the delivery of firearms license cards in 2011; and the missing 1,000 AK-47 firearms allegedly sold to the New People’s Army.

The Ombudsman handed down the preventive suspension for the Werfast contract on Dec. 4, 2014, with the suspension order on the missing AK-47 rifles following a few days later.

Petrasanta, a member of the Philippine Military Academy Class of 1984, is widely rumored to be President Benigno Aquino III’s personal choice for the post of PNP chief.

Since Purisima’s suspension in December, the 150,000-strong PNP has been led by the officer in charge, Deputy Director General Leonardo Espina. Espina and Purisima are both members of the PMA Class of 1981.

While Purisima resigned last February from the post of PNP chief at the height of the investigation into the Jan. 25 Mamasapano carnage, he still enjoys the highest rank of director general or four star general as his retirement will take effect on Nov. 23.

Espina is set to retire on July 19 upon reaching the age 56, but the President has yet to name a replacement.

Recently, House Speaker Feliciano Belmonte Jr. recently endorsed Petrasanta for the post of the PNP chief.

Mayor said Petrasanta’s second suspension would end on July 5, and the DPRM has been trying to clear up questions on the status of Petrasanta after July 5.

“We are still following the developments at the Ombudsman since the preventive suspension will end next month,” the PNP spokesperson said.

The PNP is waiting for feedback from the Ombudsman about the issue, which will be coursed through the DPRM.

“Let us give due course to the investigation of the Ombudsman before we determine what the status of the case is. At the same time, the power is with President Aquino in choosing the next PNP chief,” Mayor said.

He added that as much as possible, a leader should have a clean track record and possess the qualification and competence in order to set an example for his men.

Under the law, a police official with the rank of one star general or chief superintendent and higher is qualified to be appointed as the PNP chief although the decision solely lies with the President.

While seniority among the ranks is sometimes observed, the President has the authority to set seniority aside.

Mayor explained that a one-star police general can be designated as the PNP chief and the promotion expedited until he reaches the rank of director general or a four-star general.

“There are many things taken into consideration in choosing a PNP chief—the competence, the qualification as a leader, merits, as well as factors which are the President’s own discretion,” the police official said.