By Perfecto T. Raymundo
MANILA, July 3 (PNA) — Chief Supt. Raul Petrasanta, one of the frontrunners for the next Philippine National Police (PNP) Chief, on Friday asked the Court of Appeals (CA) to stop the implementation of the Office of the Ombudsman (Ombudsman) order dismissing him from the service for his alleged involvement in the anomalous contract with a courier service for the delivery of gun licenses.
In a 41-page petition, Petrasanta also asked the CA to reverse the findings of Ombudsman Conchita Carpio Morales and order the dismissal of the administrative case filed against him.
Petrasanta, through his lawyer Alex Avisado Jr., said that the Ombudsman committed a “serious and reversibe error” when she assumed that Petrasanta accredited WERFAST Documentary Agency despite failure to meet the criteria set under the rules and accommodated it as the sole courier service provider.
Avisado said that when Petrasanta approved the accreditation of WERFAST, it had submitted documents to prove it was qualified to provide the needed courier service.
Aside from submitting documents like business permits, proof of tax payments, certificate of registration with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), it submitted proof that it paid all its income taxes and documents showing its “extensive network all over the Philippines.”
Avisado added that WERFAST was given only a year accreditation instead of two years to give them an opportunity to submit lacking documents.
In his petition, Petrasanta said that it was not him but former PNP Chief Alan Purisima as the one who wanted to accommodate WERFAST to be the sole courier service provider.
The Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) dated Feb. 12, 2013, which ordered that all deliveries of firearms licenses by WERFAST should be mandatory, was issued by Civil Security Group (CSG) Director Gil Meneses and signed by Purisima.
However, Avisado said that it was Petrasanta who was then chief of the Firearms Explosives and Ordinance (FEO) Unit issued Resolution No. 2013-027 stating that the delivery of firearms licenses should be merely an added service for the convenience of the applicants and not mandatory.
“Instead of heeding to the mounting pressures from the PNP Chief, Petitioner [Petrasanta] chose to disregard him and follow the legal opinion of the Director of Legal Service dated 30 June 2011 which states that ‘courier service proposed by WERFAST must only be optional.’ Public Respondent Honorable Ombudsman surely cannot close her eyes on this glaring fact,” the petition said.
“If only Public Respondent Honorable Ombudsman had taken a closer look at these facts, she could have easily concluded that all the actions of Petitioner in accrediting WERFAST were in fact in accordance with law,” it added.
Petrasanta was supposed to return to work on July 5, 2015 after his six months suspension.
The petition added that Petrasanta “took active part in ensuring that WERFAST complied with the conditions of the accreditation.”
Petrasanta sent notices of violations to WERFAST indicating complaints received by the service they were providing.
However, Avisado said that Petrasanta was relieved from his position.
“Had he only stayed a little longer in office as Chief of FEO, surely, Petitioner would have already ordered the revocation of their accreditation,” he added. (PNA)