SAN LEONARDO, Philippines – Philippine National Police chief
Director General Alan Purisima allowed media yesterday to inspect his
controversial house on a 4.5-hectare property here in Nueva Ecija that was
reportedly worth P50 million but which the PNP chief claimed to be worth only
P4 million.
Purisima was not around to welcome reporters, photographers
and cameramen from newspapers, radio and television stations and foreign news
agencies, but the police chief’s relatives led by his cousin lawyer Tito
Purisima gave the media group a tour of the 3,000-square-meter compound where
the 204-square-meter main house is located.
The compound is part of the 4.5-hectare property of Purisima
in Barangay Magpapalayok in San Leonardo town.
Aside from the main house, there is a two-story guesthouse
with four rooms, a gazebo and a 7.5-meter by 15-meter swimming pool.
The swimming pool is apparently poorly maintained since
algae had already formed on the walls of the pool.
The main house includes a master’s bedroom, three regular
rooms and a room in the attic, a kitchen and a dirty kitchen. There is a
21-inch flat television set, a four-door refrigerator, an Italian oven and a
gas range. The house has no receiving area but has an eight-seat dining table.
Pieces of old wood like narra and apitong make up most of
the structure. The doors in all the rooms are made of two-inch thick narra.
The guesthouse has a mini-bar and four bedrooms, two on the
ground floor and another two on the second floor.
The roof of the gazebo is made of anahaw leaves while the
posts are made of old cut trees.
The PNP chief’s cousin Tito said the property was acquired
at a minimal price because the entire property is flood-prone, noting that the
main rest house was constructed in an elevated area.
“There was an instance when there was one-foot deep flood
inside the house,” Tito added.
Members of the media passed through the first gate of the
property and another gate for the main rest house that was surrounded by a
concrete fence that looked liked a wooden fence.
Near the second gate was the covered garage, which could
accommodate five vehicles. The garage also has drivers’ quarters.
“It’s for you to
judge now if this is really a mansion. And as you enter the house, you will
also see if the materials used for the construction are expensive or not. The
fence on the terrace is made of tubular. Lata lang ito,” said Tito.
“By inviting the
media, it is my hope that some questions related to my property would be put to
rest,” said Purisima.
“As reporters could see, this property is no mansion by any
standard. It is an ordinary house, as ordinary as the other concrete houses
that you would see in the neighborhood,” Purisima said.
Purisima is facing plunder and graft charges for the
4.5-hectare property.
The PNP chief’s relatives said Purisima built the house
using money he and his family earned through legitimate means.
The police chief also said the entire property has a market
value between P2.337 million and P4 million, a far cry from reports that
estimated it as high as P50 million.
Barangay Magpapalayok chairman Joselito Valmonte said the
updated zonal value of land in the areas is estimated at P3 million for 2.5
hectares.
Purisima acquired the lot in 1998 from Leandro Gonzales who
owns the Gonzales Hospital in San Leonardo. The house was constructed in 2002
and renovated in 2012.
Source: www.philstar.com
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