DOJ chief orders inventory, background check of all NBI agents, informants, ‘strikers’

MANILA—Justice Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre II on Tuesday ordered the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) to check on all of its agents, informants and strikers to ensure that they are not involved in illegal activities.

Aguirre made the move following the alleged involvement of an NBI “errand boy” in the kidnap-slay of South Korean businessman Jee Ick Joo.

“I have already ordered the NBI to conduct an inventory of all these confidential agents, assets, civilian informants, strikers,” Aguirre told reporters during the press conference on Monday evening.

“I want to know how many are there para malaman natin ano ang gagawin,” he noted.

He added that unauthorized people with access to the bureau could abuse such advantage and may even use the bureua’s name to perpetrate illegal activities.

Aguirre said his office is now finalizing the details of the memorandum to formalize his order.

“Gumagawa na kami ng department memorandum na pinapa-submit sa NBI kung ilan o sino ang mga confidential agent o strikers nila,” the DOJ chief added.

Aguirre’s order came after a striker of the bureau, Jerry Omlang, came out and admitted his participation in Joo’s abduction in October last year.

Jee was later killed inside the Philippine National Police headquarters in Camp Crame, investigators said.

Aguirre, together with NBI Director Dante Gierran, presented Omlang to the media at the NBI headquarters in Manila.

According to Aguirre, Omlang surrendered to the NBI last Friday and asked for protective custody.

Omlang said he decided to surrender after receiving death threats and requested that he will be placed under the protective custody of NBI.

Omlang, accompanied by his lawyer, admitted taking part in the abduction as he also pinpointed to PNP Anti-Illegal Drugs Group-Pampanga (AIDG) head Superintendent Rafael Dumlao as mastermind while Senior Police Officer 3 Ricky Sta. Isabel was the one who hired him.

Darwin Lising, NBI-NCR Supervising Agent said he met Omlang in 2007 when he was assigned at the NBI’s Anti-Human Trafficking Division and clarified that he is not an NBI agent but an errand boy or “striker” doing menial jobs for the NBI agents with no salary.

For his part, Gierran categorically denied that there is no participation of any NBI agent in the abduction incident.

Gierran clarified that Omlang is not an employee or an “asset” of the NBI.