Nowhere to put new NBI gear

CEBU, Philippines - New equipment for the National Bureau of Investigation-7 has arrived in Cebu. The problem is there is nowhere to put them yet where they can be used.

This was according to NBI-7 Director Antonio Pagatpat who explained that the arrival of the new equipment is in line with the bureau’s plan to locate their center for forensics in Visayas here in Cebu.

Yesterday, Pagatpat aired the concern to Governor Hilario Davide III during his courtesy visit.

In an interview with the media, Davide said it would definitely be beneficial if the NBI would be able to make use of the equipment which reportedly is around P5 million.

He asked Pagatpat to have the request in a formal letter, but Davide said that there was already a budget allocated for the NBI building in Sitio Sudlon, Barangay Lahug. Cebu City.

“There’s already budget for that. Naundang lang,” Davide said.

In 2011, former Governor Gwendolyn Garcia signed a Memorandum of Agreement with the NBI for their new regional office to be constructed in the province-owned lot.

Davide further said that they will see how many personnel the NBI will still need from the Provincial Capitol in order to assist them in processing clearances.

Currently, three Capitol personnel are helping the NBI with the large number of applicants who go to their office for clearances everyday.

Pagatpat said that their existing manpower cannot handle the number of applicants, which sometimes reaches a thousand people a day. –(FREEMAN)