‘Collateral damage’

“We’re merely the collateral damage.”

A police officer, who was axed by the Office of the Ombudsman along with 10 other Philippine National Police (PNP) officials over the anomalous contract for the delivery of gun licenses, has assailed the antigraft body for dismissing him from the service despite his supposed role in exposing the alleged irregularity.

Saying the Ombudsman’s decision was part of an “evil design,” the official lamented that he and some of his colleagues became the casualties of the wrangling for the top post in the 150,000-strong force.

The police officers were ordered discharged from the PNP in connection with the questionable agreement which the Firearms and Explosives Office (FEO) entered into with Werfast Documentary Services Inc. to deliver the permits issued to gun owners.

“If only the Ombudsman investigators were more circumspect in their investigation, they would have seen that we actually questioned the deal between the FEO and Werfast,” the sacked police official, who agreed to talk on condition of anonymity, told the Inquirer.

“We did our duty as police officers. But what did we get in return? We were wrongfully accused. We were dismissed for something we did not do,” he added.

The official claimed that Chief Supt. Raul Petrasanta, who was also ordered dropped from the rolls, was the real target of “concerted efforts” to block his appointment as the next PNP chief.

Petrasanta, a member of the Philippine Military Academy Class 1984, has been touted as the PNP chief-in-waiting even before resigned PNP Director Gen. Alan Purisima quit his post amid the Mamasapano controversy.

“This is a part of a power play. We’re just the collateral damage because they were actually after Petrasanta’s neck,” the official said.

“The official records will bear us out. We opposed and exposed the Werfast contract. Why did we end up on the chopping block?”

Asked to elaborate, he said some of the President’s political allies were apparently “not comfortable” with Petrasanta at the helm of the PNP during the 2016 elections.

“They want to influence the designation of the next PNP chief in preparation for the elections,” the official said.