NBI chief hurt by ‘bagman’ allegations

Palace confirms Santiago resignation

MANILA, Philippines — Hurt by allegations of having a so-called collector extorting money from illegal gambling operators, National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) Director Jaime Santiago called it quits to salvage the reputation his critics have tried to tarnish.

Santiago yesterday showed reporters two tabloid articles suggesting that a certain “Paul Tangkad” from the NBI special task force unit served as his “authorized bagman” collecting payola from online cockfighting operators and Philippine offshore gaming operators – both of which are illegal.

The articles claimed that “Paul Tangkad” has four collectors roaming around the country, raking in up to P2 million weekly from gambling operators in exchange for protection.

“The only ‘Paul Tangkad’ that we know here is assigned to the ballistics (unit),” Santiago said of the reports. “It’s malicious.”

“I can look the media and NBI officers in the eye. I don’t collect anything and I don’t have any quota,” he maintained.

Santiago sent his letter of irrevocable resignation to the Palace on Friday, saying his detractors “incessantly make moves to blemish my reputation.”

“I cannot allow this seemingly orchestrated move to blacken my reputation, which I molded through the years,” he wrote.

Malacañang acknowledged receipt of Santiago’s resignation letter.

“Confirmed. He submitted his resignation (to President Marcos),” Presidential Communications Undersecretary Claire Castro said in a text message to reporters yesterday.

Asked about the President’s statement on Santiago’s resignation, Castro said, “There’s no comment from the President as of now.”

Santiago will stay on until his successor is named. The former judge and police sharpshooter was plucked out of retirement on June 14, 2024 when he took the oath of office as Marcos’s second NBI chief.

The bureau jump-started his career in 1977 by hiring him as an emergency contractual employee, assigning him to the Mastername Index Section of the Identification and Records Division, while he was studying at the Philippine College of Criminology.

After earning his degree, he left the agency to climb the ranks in law enforcement and the judiciary, where he served as acting executive or presiding judge of regional trial courts in the cities of Manila and Tagaytay.

In his resignation letter, Santiago stressed his commitment to rooting out corrupt officials in the bureau.

“I have caused the removal of those who have committed serious infractions in the performance of their duties and commenced the conduct of an investigation into the irregularities committed,” he said.

“I steered the bureau with my best leg forward – regaining the trust and confidence of the Filipino people and the media,” he added. — Helen Flores