SAN LEONARDO,
Nueva Ecija – “It’s not an ordinary house as claimed by Philippine National
Police Chief, General Purisima. It’s a dream house, actually.”
Thus exclaimed Nueva Ecija newsmen who
went to the general’s reported multimillion peso mansion in Barangay
Magpapalayok here yesterday amid questions over the controversial property that
has been the subject of a lifestyle check.
Consider this: the house has a gazebo, a function hall, sala set made
of narra, apitong and other hardwood species and a billiards table. The whole
compound was cluttered with CCTV (Closed
Circuit Television) surveillance
cameras.
The ground floor has two rooms, a
small bar and dirty kitchen while the second floor has three rooms with
attic.
To top it off, there’s a separate
guesthouse with an inviting swimming
pool and garage and well-manicured landscape which, according to
contractor’s estimate, is easily worth P2 million.
“It maybe an ordinary house given
General Purisima’s lavish lifestyle and standards. But to the ordinary Juan
dela Cruz, this is a dream house. A house worth dying for,” one of the newsman
commented.
Magpapalayok barangay chairman Joselito Valmonte said the
updated zonal value of the lot is at P3 million per 2.5 hectares.
Purisima acquired the lot in 1998 from
its fourth owner Leandro Gonzales, owner of the Gonzales Hospital in the same
town. The house was constructed in 2002 and renovated in 2012.
Its
first owner was Efren Villaroman of the Villaroman Elementary School beside the
house. (Manny Galvez)
