Newly-installed PNP chief Director General Ricardo Marquez during the donning of rank ceremony at Camp Crame on Thursday. President Benigno Aquino III appointed Marquez seven months after the PNP was led by interim leader, officer in charge Deputy Director General Leonardo Espina. PNP PIO.
DIRECTOR General Ricardo Marquez has vowed to open to the media the controversial “White House,” the official residence of the newly installed Philippine National Police chief, “for closure and transparency.”
“I will open the White House to media for closure and transparency,” he said in his first ambush interview as PNP chief on Thursday.
This will be the first time the PNP will open the Chief’s residence since its allegedly overpriced reconstruction under dismissed Director General Alan Purisima’s leadership. Reports claimed the renovation was worth P25-million.
The two-story structure is located beside the Santolan Gate of Camp Crame, the national headquarters of the PNP in Quezon City. During Purisima’s time, members of the media were not allowed to enter the White House, which was hounded by controversies.
“It’s color white, really,” he jokingly told reporters.
READ: Camp Crame’s White House readied for new PNP Chief
Marquez said he and his family would start moving in to the White House in the weekend.
In 2013, Purisima had the White House renovated when it started flooding in the area. Denying reports that the construction was excessively priced, the PNP said it only cost P11 million.
The budget for reconstruction, according to the PNP, was donated by friends of Purisima in the Free and Accepted Masons of the Philippines.
The White House issue had triggered a lifestyle check among PNP officials, starting with Purisima, who faced both administrative and criminal charges over the alleged overpriced construction.
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