NBI to reopen mall offices

FILE PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines—The National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) will open its satellite offices in shopping malls Monday to ease the lines of applicants for clearances at its headquarters in Manila.

The contract of the service provider for the processing of NBI clearances expired on Dec. 31 last year.

The NBI said it would not hire any more service providers but instead run its own clearance system to save money.

Medardo de Lemos, NBI officer in charge, said the contract cost the NBI P5 million a month, an amount the bureau could use for improvements.

“The NBI clearance income [annually], which amounts to P500 million, is all remitted to the national treasury and the P60 million we can save from having to pay a provider will go a long way for the bureau,” De Lemos said.

De Lemos gave assurance that with the NBI running its own system, the “issuance of documents will be faster and quicker.”

There were long lines of applicants at the NBI clearance office on United Nations Avenue in Manila last week after the closure of the satellite offices at shopping malls.

“The congestion is expected because January is peak season for clearance applicants and satellite clearance offices have been closed, but starting on Monday some of these satellite offices will be open to the public,” De Lemos said.

The NBI has 63 satellite offices located in local government offices and shopping malls in Metro Manila.

The online application and e-clearance systems will be activated to expedite clearances, De Lemos said.

An NBI website advisory showed that the e-clearance system had not been operating since Sept. 2 last year.—Nancy C. Carvajal