Duterte suspends NBI anti-drug operations
4 NBI officials relieved over suspected involvement in case
Even the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) can no longer conduct anti-illegal drug operations, President Rodrigo Duterte said Thursday.
He made the announcement during the 38th National Convention of the Philippine Association of Water Districts in Davao City, just three days after he ordered the police to put its war on drugs on hold and focus on internal cleansing to weed out the scalawags.
“[The NBI] is also included because I lost my trust on you,” he said.
“Many are still okay but the problem is, it’s a virulent thing. It’s like a bureau that has been affected,” he added.
The Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA), in coordination with the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), now spearhead the fight against narcotics.
Before Duterte made the announcement, Justice Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre II ordered the relief of four NBI officials tagged in the kidnapping and killing of South Korean national Jee Ick-joo.
NBI National Capital Region Chief Ricardo Diaz, who was accused by Police Superintendent Rafael Dumlao as the mastermind behind Jee’s kidnapping, was transferred back to his mother unit in Regional Operations Services.
Others relieved were NBI agent Darwin Lising, Deputy Director Jose Jojo Yap and Deputy Director Ruel Bolivar.
Lising, the alleged boss of Jerry Omlang, was ordered to be transferred in Bicol where he was previously assigned. Omlang allegedly withdrew from an automated teller machine (ATM) the P5-million ransom remitted by Jee’s widow.
Yap, NBI’s investigative agent, will be replaced by Vicente De Guzman while Bolivar, head of Task Force Against Illegal Drugs, will be replaced by lawyer Jonathan Galisia.
In a text message, Diaz said Dumlao is lying to discredit the NBI officials for his benefit.
“There is now a new joint investigating team. Let’s not preempt them. Dumlao is lying and trying to muddle the investigation to attack our credibility for his own purpose,” he said.
Diaz said he and the NBI agents relieved are innocent.
“He is implicating innocents. I will be vindicated in due time. Truth will prevail,” he said.
Dumlao was earlier identified by SPO3 Ricky Sta. Isabel as the official who ordered him to bring Jee’s remains to a funeral parlor.
Jee was abducted from his residence in Angeles City, Pampanga on October 18 last year by men who allegedly identified themselves as members of the Philippine National Police (PNP) Anti-Illegal Drugs Group. This unit has been disbanded following a national police directive to suspend its anti-illegal drugs programs.
Jee was killed several hours later inside a car parked in Camp Crame, the national police headquarters. His body was brought to a funeral parlor in Caloocan City for cremation.
Even the NBI, the bureau, is suspended from enforcing the drug laws. PRESIDENT RODRIGO DUTERTE