Speaker Sonny Belmontes call (Inquirer, March 24, 2015) for embattled

erstwhile PNP Chief Alan Purisima to resign from the service is a clear
manifestation of the publics growing displeasure at the latters attempt to hold on
to power despite the flak he has been getting over his furtive handling of the
Mamasapano fiasco. The resonant call for him to step down carries not only a
moral issue but is one that also draws ample support from the pertinent provisions
of the law.

No less than the PNP Charter or Republic Act No. 6975 provides:
Section 29. Key Positions. The head of the PNP with the rank director
general shall have the position title of Chief of the PNP. X x x.
Clearly, the term PNP Chief is a position title given by law to the head of
the PNP who shall have the rank classification of Director General. Therefore, one
appointed to the rank of Director General of the PNP cannot resign as such and
remain carrying his position as PNP Chief, for to do so would result in an
anomalous situation where the position and the rank will be split into two (2)
separate and distinct posts, a situation not even remotely nor vaguely contemplated
under the law. Moreover, it will effectively prevent the appointment of a
permanent head of the national police body in contravention of both the letter and
the spirit of the law and to the detriment of the whole PNP as a heavily-battered
organization trying to bounce back from the ignominy wrought by the
Maguindanao tragic incident.

One concrete proof that it was never the intendment of the legislature to
sever the posts into two (2) separable positions is the fact that the PNP chief is
appointed by the President only once, that is, to the rank of Director General and

to no other position pursuant to Sec. 31(d) of RA 6975, as amended. That rank

carries with it the exclusive solitary position title of PNP Chief, an ex officio
post which means by virtue of the characteristics inherent in the holding of a
particular office without the need of specific authorization or appointment.
(http://legal-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com). That being so, Purisima cannot
legally keep his stars after relinquishing his seat considering that by law the
former belongs to the latter and vice versa and therefore both of them must be
treated as one.

ATTY. ALVIN T. CLARIDADES

PUP College of Law Faculty
Sta. Mesa, Manila
24 March 2015