2027 budget: NBI seeks funds to send personnel to embassies abroad

MANILA, Philippines — National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) Director Melvin Matibag on Monday sought funding for agency representatives or attachés in embassies abroad to address transnational crimes.

He made the appeal during the House of Representatives committee on appropriations’ hearing for the agency’s 2027 budget, where he disclosed that no budget was allocated this year for the deployment of NBI representatives in embassies abroad.

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This came after FPJ Panday Bayanihan party-list Rep. Brian Poe asked Matibag if funding had been allotted for the program in this year’s national budget. He cited Republic Act No. 10867, or the National Bureau of Investigation Reorganization and Modernization Act, which allows the agency’s director to deploy any of its officials or personnel as functionaries attached to embassies abroad, with the agency shouldering the cost.

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“I’m very thankful that you raised that issue because that is one of the future that the NBI is looking at, that we put NBI attachés in at least selected areas,” Matibag said.

“That is included in our wishlist, and take that advantage also to request because we want to increase the number of agents because if we will comply with that, we need additional agents,” he added.

He said that currently, there are only approximately 300 NBI agents deployed across the country.

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Poe said the lack of funding for NBI agents to be assigned as attachés in embassies abroad was “alarming,” citing the agency’s role in going after crimes such as scam networks, cyber fraud, illegal online gaming, sexual exploitation, human trafficking, and Philippine offshore gaming operators.

“How are we supposed to go after international fugitives if we don’t even have funding for NBI representatives abroad? This is one thing that we should take into consideration for the budget season,” the lawmaker said. /mcm