1,032 NBI clearance applicants benefit from First Time Jobseekers Assistance Act

MANILA, Philippines — A total of 1,032 free National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) clearances have been issued so far in compliance with Republic Act 11261 or the First Time Jobseekers Assistance Act, the bureau said Friday.

The bureau’s director, Dante Gierran, said that the free NBI clearances were issued in 15 satellite and regional and district offices in the country including LRT Northmall, NBI Muntinlupa Satellite Office, NBI Quezon City Hall, NBI Biometrics Main Building, NBI South Eastern Mindanao Regional Office, and Bohol Regional Office, among others.

Further, Gierran vowed to continue to expand the establishment of more satellite offices in 2020. Currently, there are 130 NBI clearance satellites and clearance processing centers in the country, he said.

President Rodrigo Duterte in May signed into law R.A. 11261 which waives government fees and charges on documents needed by first-time jobseekers for their employment.

In October 2019, the NBI issued Memorandum Circular No. 02, S. 2019, on the Guidelines in the Implementation of the “First Time Jobseekers Assistance Act” in the NBI.

The service is available at the NBI Main Office Clearance Center and regional and district offices with clearance processing centers.

NBI Deputy Director for Information Communications Technology Service (ICTS) Jose Justo Yap said that complying with the law is considered as a priority project of the bureau following Duterte’s orders to simplify government processes for the public.

In 2018, Yap said that the Identification and Records Division (IRD) and the Information and Communications Technology Division (ICTD) had processed and issued 7,520,791 NBI clearance certificates.