NBI set to submit report on bullet-planting probe

The National Bureau of Investigation task force investigating the bullet-planting extortion scam at the four terminals of the country’s premier airport is set to submit their first progress report to Justice Secretary Benjamin Caguioa over the weekend, NBI head agent Manny Eduarte said.

Eduarte, head of the NBI special task force created by Caguioa to look into the scam, declined to answer questions on the progress of the investigation, saying a report will soon be submitted to the Justice Secretary.

The NBI head agent instead referred all questions regarding the development of the investigation to the Department of Justice.

“All questions should be asked to the DOJ because we will submit our report over the weekend or Monday,” Eduarte told the Inquirer in a brief telephone interview.

The NBI, which initially found that the “tanim-bala” extortion scam was being perpetrated by a syndicate inside the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (Naia), was given 15 days by Caguioa to come up with a report.

Eduarte has urged travelers who had been victimized by the tanim-bala scam to file their complaints with various Philippine embassies abroad.

He said sworn statements executed in the embassies could be forwarded to the NBI for action.

The NBI started their investigation in September based on the complaint by American missionary Lane Michael White who was detained by airport police after a bullet was found in his baggage.