Newly appointed NBI director Jaime Santiago sets priorities

Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin (center) administers the oath of office to newly-appointed National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) chief Jaime Santiago (third from right) at the Office of the Executive Secretary on Friday, June 14, 2024. Photo from the Presidential Communications Office

MANILA, Philippines — Faster processing of clearances, fighting cybercrime syndicates and scammers will be among the priorities of newly appointed National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) Director Jaime Santiago.

On Friday, Santiago had a courtesy visit to undersecretaries of the Department of Justice (DOJ) after taking his oath in Malacañang.

Santiago replaces Medardo de Lemos as NBI Director. De Lemos was supposed to retire in 2023, but President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. extended his stint to one more year, up to June 2024.

The new NBI chief told reporters he wants to improve NBI services further and increase the public trust in the agency.

READ: RTC judge, ex-SWAT sharpshooter Jaime Santiago is new NBI chief

“As much as possible, pagandahim pa ang serbisyo ng NBI, tiwala ng tao ibalik, usual na order sa isang bagong hepe,” Santiago told reporters.

(As much as possible, improve the NBI’s services to restore public trust—this is the usual directive given to a new chief.)

“Lalo na yung speedy issuance ng clearances, isa na iyan, tututok kami sa cybercrime, ang dami na nating mga scam-scam, so iyan ang tututukan ko as much as possible,” he added.

(Especially the speedy issuance of clearances.) We will focus on cybercrime; there are so many scams nowadays. So, I will focus on that as much as possible.)

Santiago was a Manila Regional Trial Court Judge before his appointment as head of the NBI.

He said he is excited about his new position.