NBI to submit report on ‘tanim-bala’ tomorrow

MANILA, Philippines – The National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) is set to submit tomorrow to the Department of Justice (DOJ) its report on the tanim-bala (bullet planting) incidents at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA).

The DOJ, said Undersecretary Emmanuel Caparas, has rejected NBI’s request for more time to prepare the report, which was originally set for submission on Wednesday.

Caparas said the NBI has already provided them with a preliminary report. “It is a verbal report.”

The DOJ formed the Special Task Force-TALABA (Tanim Laglag Bala) on Nov. 3 and selected seven men from the NBI-Anti-Organized and Transnational Crime Division (AOTCD) to conduct the probe. They were given 15 days or until Nov. 18 to finish the task.

Caparas said the DOJ wanted to get the report earlier than the original Nov. 18 deadline.

The NBI was reportedly still in the process of completing some documents and examining CCTV recording of some tanim-bala incidents. Furthermore, investigators reportedly have yet to talk to some concerned individuals.

Caparas earlier admitted that one of the angles being looked into by the NBI was that the laglag-bala incidents – aside from being an extortion racket allegedly carried out by some personnel at the airport – were intended to sabotage the Aquino administration.

NBI Director Virgilio Mendez earlier said that aside from the filing of criminal charges against those responsible, they hope that “some corrective measures might be introduced just to improve the system.”?“We are not here just to look at who are the people at fault, but how could we improve the system at the airport,” he said.