The National Bureau of Investigation should recruit more agents to improve their delivery of public service, Senator Raffy Tulfo said Monday.

During the Senate hearing on the proposed 2024 National Expenditure Program of the Department of Justice and its attached agencies on Monday, Tulfo raised the need for the NBI to address a low number of its agents being deployed nationwide.

Tulfo cited that the NBI is operating with less than 500 agents deployed across the country.

"Dapat puspusan po ang inyong recruitment dahil, 'yung sabi po kanina, too much expectation from the people sa NBI. Baka naman mawawala 'yung kanilang tiwala dahil mahina po kayo sa (You should intensify you recruitment because as I said earlier, the people expect too much from the NBI. That trust might gone with your slow) recruitment process," Tulfo told the NBI officials during the hearing.

In response, DOJ Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla said the Justice Department is now finalizing its Organizational Structure and Staffing Pattern or OSSP for the NBI.

Remulla noted that the NBI has asked P290 million for training expenses but the Department of Budget and Management this amount and granted the agency with P8 million only "duet to unfinished OSSP."

"Meron po kaming bagong item sa OSSP dahil nilakad po namin nang todo na ma-approve ng DBM. Nagkaroon po kami ng bagong 400 items kaya lang wala tayong training fees kaya doon po kami humihingi sana ng tulong sa Senado, ma-restore lang po itong proposed PHP290 million for training (We have new items in the OSSP because we worked hard for it to be approved by the DBM. We have 400 new items but we have no training fees. That's why we are asking the help of the Senate to restore this proposed P290 million for training," he said.

Remulla also asked for an additional P100 million budget to supplement and support the NBI Academy.

Under the OSSP, the NBI Director Medardo de Lemos said they are targeting to recruit and train around 120 agents next year as recommended by the DOJ.

"Sa training namin, inexpand namin 'yan. Pupuwede naming gawin ng hanggang 40 agents per training at masusundan namin 'yung figure na binigay sa amin ni Secretary Remulla na more or less 120 agents a year ang mare-recruit namin sa apat na batch (We expanded our training was program. We can do it with 40 agents per training to keep up with the target recruitment given to us by Secretary Remulla of more or less 120 agents a year in four batches)," de Lemos said.