Sandiganbayan won’t junk case vs ex-PNP chief

MANILA, Philippines — The Sandiganbayan Sixth Division has denied the bid of former Philippine National Police chief Alan Purisima to have his graft case dismissed, ruling that the prosecution’s initial evidence in the case was strong.

Purisima faces a graft charge in relation to an allegedly anomalous courier deal between the PNP and WerFast Documentation Agency Inc. in 2011.

In a three-page resolution, the antigraft court denied Purisima’s motion for leave of court to file demurrer to evidence. “After carefully reviewing the accused’s respective motions and the prosecution’s evidence, this court resolves to deny the respective motions of the accused,” the court said.

Purisima earlier sought the court’s permission to file a demurrer — asking it to evaluate the evidence presented by the prosecution, to determine if there was enough basis to proceed.

A granted demurrer is tantamount to dismissal of the case.

Since the leave of court to file a demurrer was denied, trial is expected to continue, with Purisima presenting his evidence.

Conversely, Purisima can also file a demurrer without leave of court. However, if the demurrer is denied, Purisima loses his chance to present evidence, and will be declared guilty.

Purisima’s case originated in 2011, when he and 16 others allegedly acted with partiality, bad faith and negligence when they awarded a courier contract to WerFast for a gun courier deal.

According to the prosecution, Purisima accredited Werfast as the PNP’s courier service provider for all the firearms license applications despite its failure to comply with government regulations on courier services.