TRANSCRIPT OF INTERVIEW OF SEN. SERGE OSMEÑA

On PNP Alan Purisima

Q: Should the President remove Purisima now that the Ombudsman has ordered his suspension?

Serge: The President stands by his friends, which is not good. In may instances, especially when you are in government, standing by your friends, is not a virtue. It is a shortcoming.

Q: Nakaka-demoralize sa mga taga PNP?

Serge: Yes. Because the mandate of the DILG, especially the PNP which is a part of the DILG, is to uphold the law, right or wrong, kaibigan mo o hindi, basta right or wrong, hindi ba? Pairalin ang batas.

Yes, it would bring down the morale if they would see somebody is favored above the others. Controversial din pala si Purisima sa loob eh. May mga grupo diyan who agree with him, don't like the way he does things. This will merely complicate matters.

Q: Mag-file na lang ng irrevocable resignation?

Serge: He should have done that 6 months ago. Dapat nag-retire na siya, ang ganda-ganda pa nga ng bahay niya eh.

Q: Pinag-tatanggol ni PNOY...

Serge: That's true. That's true.

Q: Ang situation ngayon, ang daming crimes, may mga issues ng corruption sa PNP, ang pangit na iyong PNP chief mismo may kaso ng corruption?

Serge: Correct. That's why you have to worry also about the image of the institution. Binabalewala mo iyong imahe ng institution, maaapektuhan ang lahat.

Q: Should he resign na?

Serge: He should resign, or retire, or whatever. He should remove himself from service already. If he wants, you can call it falling on your sword, on behalf of his Boss, the President.

Q: Harakiri?

Serge: Yeah, that's called falling on your sword. Pero that's not even Japanese, it's Greek. Or Macedonian practice. So, wala tayong magawa. Let us just pray that the President does the right thing.