MANILA, Philippines — The National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) on Friday apologized for an incident involving a provocative dance number during its command conference last June 30 and vowed to carry out sanctions.
NBI Director Medardo De Lemos explained that the dancers performed at the end of the command conference, during a fellowship program where regional and national officers were supposed to “bond.”
“Kung naging offensive man ang pagsasayaw na ito noong June 30 — after ng command conference — sa sensibitlites ng ating mamamayan lalo na ng kababaihan, humihingi po kami ng paumanhin,” said de Lemos in a press conference.
(If the dance number on June 30 — after the command conference — was offensive to the sensibilities of our people, especially women, we apologize.)
De Lemos said that the NBI is investigating the incident to identify who invited and authorized the dancers to perform.
“Pinapaimbestigahan natin at papatawan ng karampatang parusa ayon sa civil service rules … kung sino ang nagkamali. We will not hesitate to dismiss [or charge them with] dismissal as penalty,” he added.
(We are investigating and will impose appropriate punishment according to the civil service rules to who is at fault. We will not hesitate to dismiss [or charge them with] dismissal as a penalty.)
The NBI director said he was not present during the performance, as he left earlier at the end of the command conference.
“We would like to stress that we would never tolerate indecency in the agency, kung andoon ako malamang napahinto natin ‘yung sumayaw (if I was there, we probably could have stopped the dancing),” he added.
When asked if public funds were used to pay the performers, De Lemos responded that it is still being investigated but is unlikely.
To recall, a video circulated online showing women in revealing attires performing during the NBI event.