‘Borderless Justice’ to extend NBI’s arm

MANILA, Philippines—The National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) is launching a campaign to extend the arm of Philippine law to every part of the world so that criminal suspects who flee the country will have nowhere to hide.

Dubbed “Borderless Justice,” the NBI Foreign Liaison Division (FLD) will be sending out information on Janet Lim-Napoles and other fugitives to every Philippine embassy in the world, while speeding up documentation and coordination with Interpol and its counterpart agencies in other countries.

To drum up public support for the program, NBI agents will hold a fun run from 5 a.m. to 9 a.m. at the Mall of Asia on Aug. 21, the 30th death anniversay of martyr Benigno “Ninoy” Aquino Jr.

“We can better achieve our goals with the active help of the public, particularly victims of crimes who may have some information on the whereabouts of the fugitives. We will guide them as to where and how to file a report that will help us speed up foreign surveillance and apprehension,” the NBI’s FLD head agent Daniel Daganzo told the Inquirer.

“Our data is continuously increasing on Filipinos or foreigners criminally charged or wanted by local courts but who escaped to avoid criminal liability,” he said.

Daganzo said the failure of law enforcers to bring fugitives back to the country was giving them a black eye and needed to be addressed “more vigorously and proactively.”

“Sometimes we are branded as protectors of fugitives,” he lamented, explaining the urgency of the Borderless Justice campaign.

The NBI will seek all available legal and investigative assistance from the country where the suspects are supposed to be hiding, said Daganzo, adding that this meant the faster forwarding of all records and warrants against persons wanted by the courts to foreign embassies and law enforcement counterparts.

He said part of the public information campaign would be the distribution of posters and stickers informing the public about where to report a fugitive’s whereabouts.

He said these information materials will be distributed throughout the country and in every Philippine Embassy around the world.