CA reverses dismissal of PNP's Petrasanta over courier service mess

The Court of Appeals on Tuesday granted a plea from dismissed Philippine National Police (PNP) Chief Superintendent Raul Petrasanta that he be reinstated after being sacked over an anomalous contract with courier service Werfast Documentary Agency in 2011.

 

In a 15-page decision penned by Associate Justice Jhosep Lopez, the CA Fifteenth Division reversed and set aside for lack of merit the findings of the Office of the Ombudsman that Petrasanta had committed grave abuse of authority, grave misconduct and serious dishonesty over the accreditation of the courier service.

 

Apart from Petrasanta, who was former PNP Firearms and Explosives Office (FEO) chief, the Ombudsman had also earlier ordered the dismissal of resigned PNP chief Director General Alan Purisima and nine other PNP officials over the courier service deal.

 

Aside from dismissal from the service, other penalties imposed on the PNP commanders included forfeiture of retirement benefits, cancelation of eligibility, bar from taking civil service examinations, and perpetual disqualification from re-­employment in government service.

 

But with the CA ruling, all the accessory penalties imposed against Petrasanta were ordered recalled and lifted.

 

In its ruling, the CA said it found that Petrasanta was not involved in any conspiracy as he was merely a subordinate of Purisima, who the appeals court ruled was the one to blame for the anomaly.

 

"Let it be emphasized that despite the pressure and coercion exerted by Purisima, the members of the (Firearms and Explosives Office-Civil Service Accreditation Board) actually ruled against the exclusive and mandatory nature of the courier service when they issued Resolution No. 2013-027 mandating that the courier service is not a mandatory requirement," read the decision.

 

"It cannot be denied that petitioner never intended to accommodate Werfast as the sole courier service provider. To reiterate, it was Purisima who directed that the courier service be made mandatory and despite his insistence., the FEO-CSB chose to defy his order and followed the Legal Opinion of the PNP Legal Service that the courier service proposed by Werfast must be made optional," added the CA.

 

The case stemmed from two separate complaints filed in 2014 by private citizen Glenn Gerard Ricafranca and the Fact-Finding Investigation Bureau of the Office of the Deputy Ombudsman for the Military and Other law Enforcement Offices regarding the engagement and accreditation of Werfast as the provider of courier services for renewed firearms licenses.

 

In his plea, the police official denied the Ombudsman’s finding that he intended to accommodate Werfast as the sole accredited courier service provided by flagrantly disregarding the safeguards provided by law.

 

He said he even wrote Werfast several letters informing it about the numerous complaints that they have received and warned the company that these violations constitute grounds for the revocation or cancelation of Werfast’s accreditation as service provider.

 

Petrasanta added that the memorandum of agreement between the PNP and Werfast was validly entered into after a thorough review and assessment made by different offices under the PNP. — DVM, GMA News