NICA to De Lima: Avoid ambush interviews

Justice Secretary Leila De Lima. INQUIRER/Niño Jesus Orbeta

MANILA, Philippines—The National Intelligence Coordinating Agency (NICA) has recommended to the Department of Justice (DoJ) to avoid ambush interviews, Justice Secretary Leila De Lima said Monday.

“[The recommendation from] NICA is that as much as possible avoid ambush interviews…It’s not really the media but some other people. You’ll never know when you’ll get infiltrated by media impostors,” De Lima told reporters.

Thus, De Lima said it is important that offices of the two media groups covering the DoJ be transferred to another building, away from the Office of the Secretary, Undersecretaries and Assistant Secretaries.

De Lima added that it is also important to follow the decision of the DoJ executive committee to rationalize the limited space of the DoJ main building.

“We really need the space to devote the whole floor for the operations of the Executives of the DoJ,” De Lima said.

She added that the leaked report of the findings on the anomalies surrounding the procurement processes at the Bureau of Corrections (BuCor) is not the main reason but a factor for relocating the media to another building.

“I do not want to say that it (leaked BuCor report) has nothing to do at all. Maybe, subconsciously on the part of the DoJ as an institution, that is one of the reasons,” she added.

The DoJ reorganization would involve the removal of the prosecutors’ offices at the DoJ’s third floor building and they will be relocated to a separate building while on the second floor will be the offices of the Justice Secretary, three undersecretaries and assistant secretaries. A glass wall will be put up separating their offices from the DoJ regular offices.

On the other hand, other related agencies of the DoJ will be moved to the new building, the prosecutors to a separate building and the DoJ Action Center will be demolished and put up a new building that would hold all records of the DoJ.

De Lima said they would be able to work efficiently if they are group together in one floor.