Virgilio Mendez is 1st ‘insider’ installed as NBI chief in 13 years

Mendez has been Deputy Director for Regional Operation Services (DDROS) since 2011. He entered the NBI in 1978 as NBI Agent 1, assigned in Zamboanga City.

 

He was appointed NBI regional director of Region 10 in 2004, then deputy director for comptroller services from 2007 to 2009. Then from 2009 to 2011, he served as deputy director for administrative services.

 

Over the last year, Mendez has regularly made it in the news as he supervised and led several high-profile investigations, such as the Aman Futures scam, the Balintang Channel shooting where a Taiwanese fisherman was killed, the Atimonan bloodbath, and the Sabah territorial conflict.

 

Mendez is also currently involved in the ongoing NBI probe on alleged rice smuggler David Tan.

 

According to the DOJ, Mendez is the first "insider" appointed to head the NBI in the last 13 years, or since 2001. All three of Mendez's predecessors in the top post were all considered "outsiders" or did not come from within the NBI ranks.

 

The three former NBI chiefs were Reynaldo Wycoco and Magtanggol Gatdula, both from the Philippine National Police, and Rojas from the National Prosecution Service.

 

"It is perhaps time to once again hail somebody from the NBI ranks. Besides the obvious experience that an insider will bring to the NBI leadership, it will also serve as a considerable morale booster for those serving in the NBI," said De Lima.

 

She added: "It signals that hard work and merit in the discharge of their function will be rewarded."

De Lima added that she hoped Mendez's appointment would have a "ripple effect that would boost the performance of the rest of the bureau." —KG, GMA News