Ex-PNP exec in graft rap wants to fetch sick wife in US
A former Philippine National Police (PNP) official facing graft for the alleged AK47 scam has asked the Sandiganbayan’s nod for him to fetch his cancer-stricken wife in the United States.
In a motion, former Senior Superintendent Allan Parreno has asked the anti-graft court’s Fifth Division to lift the hold departure order issued against him in November 2015 for his alleged role in the missing 1,004 high-powered AK47 firearms which allegedly ended up in the hands of the New People’s Army (NPA) in Mindanao.
He asked the court to grant his request for humanitarian reasons.
Parreno said he pleaded to the court to allow him to travel for two weeks to fetch his wife Rosalinda from the United States where she is undergoing treatment for cancer.
In his motion, Parreno said his wife has long been suffering from a serious and advanced stage of cancer and was forced to seek treatment in the US.
He said his wife is being treated under free medical care in the US arranged by her brother, because Parreno could not pay for the medical fees as his retirement benefits are on hold due to the case.
The accused said his wife needs to be fetched and accompanied back to the Philippines due to her fragile condition.
“Unfortunately, due to the serious nature of her condition, doctors have determined at this late stage it is best if she undergoes pain management therapy here in the Philippines so that she may enjoy her remaining moments with her family,” his motion said.
Parreno said he is not a flight risk, citing his two daughters who are still studying in the country.
He added that he is still not convicted and, thus, still has a right to travel.
Parreno is an accused in the graft case of dismissed PNP Chief Superintendent Raul Petrasanta over the 1,004 missing high-powered AK47 firearms allegedly sold to the NPA.
READ: Top cops indicted over missing AK47 firearms
They are accused for the anomalous issuance of firearm licenses for AK47 from August 2011 to April 2013.
The Ombudsman said most of the firearms were immediately released even when some of the requests for their withdrawal from storage were not signed by the requester.
The PNP Criminal Investigation and Detection Group has later validated the information that the serial numbers of the AK47s issued to the security agencies and mining company matched the firearms recovered from encounters between the military and NPA rebels in the Caraga and Western Mindanao regions.
