NBI @80 Makabago... Matatag... Kabalikat sa Katotohanan at Katarungan
Last Nov. 13, the National Bureau of Investigation or NBI, the country’s premiere investigative agency, commemorated its 80th founding anniversary with the theme “NBI @ 80 Makabago ... Matatag ... Kabalikat sa Katotohanan at Katarungan”. From its humble beginnings, what started as a Division of Investigation (DI) exactly eight decades ago, under the Department of Justice, has emerged as the premiere investigative agency in the country today.
On Nov. 13, 1936, the NBI was established, a brilliant idea of the late President Manuel L. Quezon and then Secretary of Justice Jose Yulo. Tasked to organize the DI that was patterned after the United States Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) were Capt. Thomas Dugan from the New York Police Department and Flaviano Guerrero, the only Filipino member of the FBI. Forty five (45) men from among 300 applicants formed the core of the DI that was selected after meeting stiff physical, mental and moral standards. Complementing the investigative force was a mix of civilian staff composed of doctors, chemists, fingerprint technicians, photographers, and administrative personnel.
On June 19, 1947, by virtue of R.A. 157, it was reorganized into the Bureau of Investigation and was later amended by Executive Order No. 94 on October 4, 1947, renaming it to what it is presently known as the National Bureau of Investigation. Since then, the Bureau has assumed an increasingly significant role in the law enforcement sector.
Over the years, the NBI has taken the lead role in the investigation of high profile cases and in numerous instances, cases that involved top government officials, and has been at the forefront in the fight against criminality, illegal drugs, human trafficking, graft and corruption, environmental law violations, intellectual property rights and cybercrirne law violations and other criminal activities of individuals, groups and syndicates.
Eight decades later, the NBI has remained resolute in its mission “To provide quality investigative and forensic services to the people through advance methods and equipment in the pursuit of truth and justice.”
Currently, at the helm of the Bureau is NBI Director Dante Gierran who provides leadership and direction to the entire institution that now comprises 18 regions and 22 district offices. He is ably assisted by Assistant Director Medardo de Lemos and six deputy directors who each head a corresponding Service, namely : Jose Doloiras, deputy director for financial service; Atty. Antonio Pagatpat, deputy director for regional operations service; Atty. Jose Justo Yap, deputy director for investigative service; Atty. Eleanor Rachel Marfil-Angeles, deputy director for administrative service; Ferdinand Lavin, deputy director for forensic service and Vicente De Guzman III, deputy director for intelligence service.
For 2016, the NBI was characterized with intensified campaign in its relentless pursuit of law and order. Among the most significant cases investigated by the NBI include the rescue of fifty (50) victims of human trafficking by joint team of operatives of NBI-Anti Human Trafficking Division (AHTRAD) and Inter-Agency Council Against Trafficking (IACAT) on Feb. 10 and the subsequent arrest of the club owner and floor managers who offered their victims for sexual services in exchange for money.
Several courses like Management Course (Washington, DC), Computer Network Intrusion, Arson Investigation Course (Bangkok, Thailand), Security and Privacy in Systems and Envi-ronment (Cyberjaya, Malaysia), Fraud and Public Corruption (Bangkok, Thailand) were sponsored and hosted by the British Government, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), JICA, International Law Enforcement Academy (ILEA), INTERPOL, US Government, Singapore Cooperation Program, Governments of New Zealand and Sri Lanka, Central Institute of Forensic Science, Thailand Ministry of Justice, International Narcotics Law Enforcement Affairs, United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNDOC), Ministry of Justice Investigation Bureau (MJIB), Korean National Police Agency (KNPA), among others.
For the local trainings and seminars, about 200 agents, special investigators, forensic and non-investigative service personnel to 57 training activities to further capacitate and enhance their skills. Among the trainings and seminars include Advanced Intelligence Analyst Course, Marine Crime Scene Investigation Workshop, Operational Workshop on Intellectual Property Rights, ASEAN Training Program on Trafficking in Persons for Specialist AntiTrafficking Unit Commanders, Operational Workshop on Cross Border Financial Investigations, Introduction to Digital Forensics and Investigations (IDFI), AFP Surveillance Awareness, Explosive Ordnance Disposal Commander’s Course, Cyber Awareness for Prosecutors, Countering Weapons of Mass Destruction in a Maritime Environment, Counter Terrorism Financing Training, Countering Violent Extremism, among others.
As the NBI marks its 80th Founding Anniversary, its officials and employees beam with pride with the enactment of R.A. No. 10867 on June 23, 2016. It is the Act Reorganizing and Mod-ernizing the National Bureau of Investigation. The new NBI Modernization Law, in effect, significantly strengthened and expanded its jurisdiction to undertake investigations in Human Trafficking cases in all airports in the Philippines; extrajudicial/extralegal killings committed by the state security forces against media practitioners and activists; killing of justices and judges; violation of R.A. 10175, otherwise known as the ‘Cybercrime Prevention Act”; cases referred by the Inter-Agency Anti Graft Coordinating Council (IAGCC); violations of anti-dummy law; cases involving threats to security or assaults against the persons of the President, Vice President, Senate President, Speaker of the House of Representatives, and Justice of the Supreme Court; transnational crimes pursuant to existing international agreements; identification of the dead/victims in case of mass fatality incidents caused by natural disasters; and violations of commercial, economic, and financial or white-collar crimes.
The new law likewise expressly states “the President or the Secretary of Justice may direct the NBI to undertake the investigation of any crime when public interests require.”
The journey of the NBI to become a world class investigative institution continues in order for the premiere investigative institution to provide quality forensic and investigative services to the people through advanced methods and equipment in the pursuit of truth and justice.
(From the National Bureau of Investigation.)
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