Senior cop in AK-47 scam case pleads for reduction of bail

Chief Superintendent Raul Petrasanta. FILE PHOTO

Former police Chief Superintendent Raul Petrasanta has asked the Sandiganbayan to reduce his bail bond by half, citing his financial difficulties after he was dismissed from service.

Petrasanta filed his motion asking the Sandiganbayan Sixth Division’s permission for him to take back half of the P750,000 bail bond he had paid for 25 counts of graft in connection with the AK-47 rifle scam, where 1,004 missing high-powered AK-47 firearms were allegedly sold to the New People’s Army (NPA). Each count of graft cost a P30,000 bail bond.

READ: Top cops indicted over missing AK47 firearms

A member of the Philippine Military Academy Class of 1984, Petrasanta, a former officer of the Philippine National Police (PNP) Firearms and Explosives Office, had been perceived as the choice of former President Benigno Aquino III for the top police post to succeed then police chief Alan Purisima until both were dismissed from the service by the Ombudsman. The post eventually went to Ricardo Marquez.

Petrasanta and his co-accused have said they were having a difficult time “making both ends meet” after they paid their bail bonds since they were dismissed from the service and stripped of their retirement benefits by the Ombudsman due to a separate administrative offense for a P100-million shady deal with a private courier firm for firearms and licenses.

The principal accused in the said case was Purisima, the former PNP chief who was dismissed from the service in connection with the charges. He also faces usurpation indictment for his role in the botched “Oplan Exodus” operation in Mamasapano, Maguindanao.

READ: Purisima faces graft over anomalous courier deal

The other former officials asking for a reduction of their bail were P/SSupt. Eduardo Acierto (who paid his P330,000 bail), P/Supt. Nelson Bautista (who paid his P120,000 bail) and P/CInsp. Ricardo Zapata, Jr. (who paid his P30,000 bail).

“Above-named accused with all due respect move for the cash bail bond to be reduced to fifty percent of the total amount posted,” Petrasanta’s motion read.

The respondents said they were having financial difficulties paying the monthly interest of the loan they used to pay for their hefty bail bond.

“They were dismissed from police service in relation to the administrative aspect of the case, thus all the accused at present are having difficulty making both ends meet, in particular complying with the monthly interest of their loan used in their cash bond,” the motion read.

They also told the court that they are not a flight risk and committed to appear in all court sessions.

The respondents are charged with multiple counts of graft for the anomalous issuance of firearm licenses for AK-47 from Aug. 2011 to April 2013.

READ: Aquino’s pal Petrasanta, cops face arrest over AK-47 deal

Respondents were found to have conspired in facilitating, processing and approving the applications for firearm licenses of Caraga, Isla Security Agency (Isla), Claver Mineral Development Corporation and JTC Mineral Mining Corporation despite incomplete or falsified applications and supporting documents.

The Ombudsman said most of the firearms were immediately released even if some of the requests for their withdrawal from storage were not signed by the requester.

The Ombudsman noted the following irregularities: issuance of firearms licenses to Caraga despite an expired license to operate; processing of Caraga’s applications without verifying the number of firearms already issued to it, which resulted in the issuance of licenses beyond the limit allowed by regulation; recommendations for approval of the firearm licenses without proper verification and checking; the absence of verification of the identity and capacity of Isla to purchase high-powered firearms, among others.

The top cops approved the firearm licenses of the private security agencies and a mining firm despite incomplete and falsified applications to the PNP Firearms and Explosives Office.

The PNP Criminal Investigation and Detection Group then validated the information that the serial numbers of the licensed AK-47s 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. RAM/ rga