FIRING LINE: Time to overhaul NBI detention facility

By Robert B. Roque, Jr.

I find it both a hilarious debacle and disgusting that five National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) agents and an employee were caught playing “dakilang alalay” to this Jad Dera, who should be locked up in jail not dining in Makati City with his girlfriend.

For those who didn’t know, Dera is a co-accused in the drug case filed against former senator Leila de Lima. Last week, he was caught with his six NBI “alalays” aboard a van returning to the NBI detention facility in Manila.

Let’s unpack this scandal, shall we? Because it gets better. Mr. Dera’s little escapade outside the facility wasn’t just a casual stroll. He was caught flooded with cash, firearms, and other contraband.

Dera’s lawyer claims that the P100,000 cash seized from his client was pooled from contributions among NBI detainees for food. Then he says his client was out to find treatment for a medical emergency. Which is which, attorney?

I have no appetite for an NBI that has become a playground for a particular inmate who fancies himself a king. Did the NBI forget that it’s supposed to be an institution dedicated to upholding the law, not bowing down to the whims of a detainee?

Upon his official appointment as NBI director in September 2022, Firing Line warned Atty. Medardo de Lemos that his detention facility was a headache. I published the tips I’d been getting from my spies that NBI’s Security Management Division might have a chief. Still, the one who actually lords over the facility was this plump thug they called the “mayores,” who demanded protection money from other detainees in the thousands of pesos a week.

But apparently, the NBI and its most privileged inmate had to be caught first before coming out with the truth confirming that Mr. Dera had been enjoying many privileges within the detention center.

Special treatment in terms of food, sleeping conditions, and who knows what else. And how did he acquire these luxuries? By paying for them, of course! I must say, it’s quite generous of the NBI to allow an inmate to turn their detention cell into a five-star hotel, all at the expense of his fellow detainees.

This whole episode reeks of incompetence, corruption, and a complete disregard for the rule of law. The Department of Justice said the head of the detention facility has already been axed, but how come the name of this chief was never mentioned in media reports?

Is that just a statement of appeasement from DOJ Spokesperson Mico Clavano? You know, sir, don’t be afraid to name names. In fact, expose and let more heads roll to communicate that the DOJ is not tolerating this circus.

Let this scandal be a wake-up call for a much-needed system overhaul. And while the DOJ is at it, can you check if it’s true that a minor-aged female had been detained for months in the NBI Security Management Division and had been used and abused by other inmates?

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