PBBM appoints new NBI chief

FILE: President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. has appointed retired judge Jaime Santiago as director of the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI). (PCO Photo)

MANILA — President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. has appointed retired judge Jaime Santiago as the new director of the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI).

Santiago replaced Medardo de Lemos.

According to a Presidential Communications Office (PCO) news release, Santiago, known as a sharpshooter at Manila police’s Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) team, took his oath of office before Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin on Friday.

He served at the then-Western Police District (now Manila Police District) from 1979 to 2000.

Santiago also served as the presiding judge of the regional trial courts in the cities of Manila and Tagaytay, and was a former Metropolitan Trial Court judge of Manila

He served as the assistant city prosecutor of the Department of Justice-Office of the City Prosecutor from October 2003 to December 2006.

Santiago is also a former deputy executive vice president of the Philippine Judges Association and former president of the Metropolitan and City Judges Association of the Philippines.

The Professional Regulation Commission named him as an outstanding criminologist in 2012, while the Philippine Jaycees (now JCI Philippines), a leadership development organization, recognized him as one of the 10 Outstanding Policemen of the Philippines in 2009.