Former PNP official says he’s too poor to post bail

ONCE touted as the next police chief due to his close ties to the previous President, dismissed Chief Supt. Raul Petrasanta’s fortunes have taken a sharp turn.

Facing at least two graft cases, including the alleged sale of  over a thousand AK-47 rifles to communist rebels, Petrasanta now says he’s too poor to pay his bail in full.

Petrasanta filed a motion on Monday asking the Sandiganbayan for a 50-percent reduction in his P730,000 bail, saying he was “finding difficulty making both ends meet.”

He made the pleading along with three other former police officials, who were his subordinates in the Firearms and Explosives Division of the Philippine National Police, which he used to head.

“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,” according to the motion dated July 4.

The antigraft court’s special Fifth Division is set to hear the motion on July 7.

Besides Petrasanta, a decorated police general, others accused who also asked for bail reduction were former Senior Supt. Eduardo Acierto, former Supt. Nelson Bautista, and former Chief Inspector Ricardo Zapata Jr. Eleven others have been charged in the graft case.

Court records showed that Petrasanta and three others posted bail on March 14.

Petrasanta posted a cash bond of P730,000, while his former subordinates were asked to pay substantially lesser amounts: Acierta with P330,000; Bautista, P120,000; and Zapata, P30,000.

In a Feb. 29 resolution, the court ordered their arrest in connection with the disappearance of 1,004 Russian-made assault rifles from police inventory which were allegedly sold to New People’s Army rebels from 2011 to 2013.

The court said a “judicious, personal, and independent review” of records showed substantial evidence to support a finding of probable cause against the accused.

Petrasanta and his three subordinates were among the 12 dismissed from the police service by the Office of the Ombudsman in June 2015, along with former PNP chief Alan Purisima, for their involvement in the alleged fraudulent P100-million contract with the courier service Werfast for the delivery of gun licenses in 2011.