Eleven persons, including four employees of the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI), have been arrested for allegedly "fixing clearance applications." 

In a statement, the NBI said the 11 suspects, whose identities were withheld, were arrested last Monday, Jan. 6, during an entrapment operation conducted by the NBI’s Cybercrime Division (NBI-CCD) and Special Task Force (NBI-STF) at the NBI Clearance Center.

NBI Director Jaime B. Santiago has assured that “there is no place for corrupt practices in the NBI under his leadership.”

Thus, he declared that he will be relentless in pursuing individuals who will violate the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act Law.

The NBI said "the operation stemmed from an information alleging that a certain NBI employee is in collusion with fixers in the issuance of NBI Clearance Certificates."

“The information also revealed that the said NBI employee was facilitating the processing of NBI clearance applications in exchange for a fee ranging from P800 to P2,000," it said. 

“Acting on the information, NBI-CCD immediately conducted covert inquiries and verification, which confirmed the veracity of the information,” it added.

After the arrest of the suspects, they were presented for inquest before the Department of Justice (DOJ).

It said the four NBI employees, all under the NBI’s Communication Technology Division (NBI-ICTD), were charged with direct bribery under the Revised Penal Code; violation of  Sections 3(b) and (e) of Republic Act (RA) No. 3019, the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act; Section 7(d) of RA No. 6713, the Code of Conduct and Ethical Standards for Public Officials and Employees; and Section 21(c) and (h) of RA No. 11032, Ease of Doing Business and Efficient Government Service Delivery Act of 2018, in relation to Section 6 of RA No. 10175, the Cybercrime Prevention Act of 2012.

The seven other suspects, who arrested outside the NBI Clearance Center, were charged with violation of  Section 21(c), (g), and (h) of RA No. 11032 in relation to RA No. 10175.