NBI has started probe on 'forged' appointment document —Palace

The National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) has started looking into the "forged" document showing President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. had appointed a Bureau of Immigration (BI) commissioner, Malacañang said Wednesday.

"As of yesterday afternoon, I was informed by [Justice] Secretary Boying Remulla that the NBI has already commenced its investigation," Press Secretary Trixie Cruz-Angeles said at a press briefing.

A separate probe is being conducted by the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG).

At a separate press conference, Police General Rodolfo Azurin Jr., the head of the Philippine National Police (PNP), said that the CIDG's probe has already made "breakthroughs."

"Mayroon naman po tayong, kumbaga mga breakthrough doon. We deem it na huwag munang i-ano dahil ongoing pa po ang follow-up but there are breakthroughs already. We were able to identify 'yung mga nagpost po doon," Azurin said.

(We already have breakthroughs in the investigation. We deem it best not to disclose as the follow-up probe is still ongoing but there are breakthroughs already. We were able to identify those who have posted.)

Those involved in the "unscrupulous act" will be held liable under Article 161 of the Revised Penal Code for forging the seal of the Philippine government or the signature or stamp of the Chief Executive, the CIDG said.

The forgery issue came to light after reporters asked the Palace on Tuesday for confirmation on whether a new BI commissioner has been appointed.

Cruz-Angeles said upon checking and verification, there was no such appointment document issued by the Presidential Management Staff, the Office of the Press Secretary, and the Office of the President.

Person of interest?

At a public briefing, Department of Justice spokesperson Atty. Mico Clavano said the purpose of the investigation was to identify the source of the forged document and determine the intention behind it.

When asked if the investigators already have a person of interest or suspect, Clavano advised the public to wait for the details of the investigation.

"Let's give them some time, ‘yung NBI tsaka PNP-CIDG to conduct their investigation para malaman natin," he said.

"And the purpose of this investigation, it's supposed to determine 'yung source natin, kung sino yung nagpapalikod at ano 'yung intensyon nila," Clavano added.

(Let's give them some time, the NBI and the PNP-CIDG, to conduct their investigation. The purpose of this investigation is to determine the source, who is behind this, and what their intention is.)

Clavano said those found guilty of counterfeiting the seal of the President and faking his signature can be imprisoned from 12 to 20 years.

"Alam natin from the wording of the law na malaking problema ito o malaking issue. Hindi natin minamaliit ang mga bagay na ito," he said.

(We know from the wording of the law that this is a big problem or big issue. We are not taking this issue lightly.)

Media cleared

Meanwhile, Clavano said the media, as a general rule, has no liability over the use of a a forged document as long as there was no malice.

"Sa tingin ko ho, hindi naman, wala naman liability ang media as a general rule [personally, I don’t think the media has a liability as a general rule]," Clavano said during the day's public briefing.

"However, kung may nakitang malice, may nakitang intent at knowlingly ginamit ho itong pekeng dokumento para siguro ipalabas na may na-appoint as Immigration officer or Immigration commissioner, doon magkakaroon ng liability ang media," he added. 

(However, if malice is present, if the document was used despite knowing it is fake to make it appear as if there was indeed an appointment, then the media is liable.) —KBK/VBL, GMA News