Suspects in criminal cases now detained at the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) in Manila will be transferred to the prison facilities of the Bureau of Corrections (BuCor) in Muntinlupa City. BuCor Director General Gregorio Pio P. Catapang Jr. and NBI Director Medardo G. de Lemos have signed a memorandum of agreement for the transfer. The NBI offices in Manila are set for demolition to pave the way for the construction of a new building. In a statement, BuCor said that its prison facilities will serve as “temporary lock up facility of individuals arrested by the NBI while the latter shall be responsible in providing its own personnel in guarding and securing the facility and its immediate premises.” “Under the MOA, all persons detained at the said facility shall be under the responsibility of the NBI subject to existing rules and regulation of BuCor, which include visiting privileges to be granted by the NBI to the families, friends and lawyers of the detainees,” it explained. It said that Director De Lemos has expressed his gratitude to Director General Catapang “for accommodating them saying that affected structures to be demolished aside the NBI main buildings include their detention facility where arrested individuals are placed while waiting for the result of the inquest proceedings and orders coming from the courts and their firing range.”