Jaime Santiago | |
---|---|
Director of the National Bureau of Investigation | |
In office June 14, 2024 –August 16, 2025 | |
President | Ferdinand R. Marcos,Jr. |
Preceded by | Medardo G. de Lemos |
Personal details | |
Born | Jaime B. Santiago January 9,1958 Philippines |
Alma mater | Philippine College of Criminology (BS) Manuel L. Quezon University (LLB) |
Police career | |
Service | Philippine National Police |
Allegiance | ![]() |
Divisions | Manila Police District |
Service years | 1979–2001 |
Rank | ![]() |
Jaime B. Santiago is a Filipino retired police officer,lawyer and retired court judge who previously served as director of the National Bureau of Investigation until his resignation on August 16,2025. [1]
His career as a police officer and sharpshooter became the basis of the 1996 action film SPO4 Santiago:Sharpshooter .
A licensed criminologist and graduate of Philippine College of Criminology, [2] Santiago started his career at the Western Police District (WPD) with the rank of Patrolman in 1979. He later became a sharpshooting SWAT unit member. While serving in the police force,he graduated with a Bachelor of Laws from Manuel L. Quezon University in 1993,while holding the rank of police sergeant. He also achieved an 81.65% passing grade in the 1994 Philippine Bar Exam. [3]
He received awards such as Senior Non-Commissioned Officer of the Year for the WPD in 1995,the Ten Outstanding Policemen of the Philippines (TOPP) from the Jaycees in the same year,and in 1996,the Act of Heroism award from the National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO). He retired with the rank of police senior inspector in 2001. [3]
Santiago became a prosecutor in 2003 to 2006,and later,a presiding judge for the Manila RTC. [3] He also served as a professor of criminology for Emilio Aguinaldo College and for his alma mater Philippine College of Criminology. [2] president of the Metropolitan and City Judges Association of the Philippines and a member of the Supreme Court's Committee on Security. [4]
He was awarded as Outstanding Criminologist by the Professional Regulation Commission in 2012. [2]
Santiago was appointed as director of the National Bureau of Investigation on June 14,2024. [4]
Under his tenure,the NBI was involved in the arrest and deportation of Philippine offshore gaming operators personalities Alice Guo and Cassandra Ong,as well as the deportation of former Negros Oriental representative Arnolfo Teves from Timor-Leste to the country. [5] Moreover,among his accomplishments in the agency's anti-corruption drive were the relief of a special task force over irregularities,as well as the arrests of a mayor in Pampanga and a former councilor in Albay on extortion charges. [6]
On August 15,2025,Santiago sent a resignation letter to President Bongbong Marcos. [6] He cited the reasons including the "detractors" and "those who have sinister interests" in his position, [5] as well as an "orchestrated move to blacken his reputation." [6]
He was portrayed by then-Cavite Vice Governor Bong Revilla in 1996 film, SPO4 Santiago:Sharpshooter . [3]