MANILA, Philippines — President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. appointed retired judge Jaime Santiago as the new director of the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI), Malacañang said Friday.

Santiago, who served as a Manila Regional Trial Court judge, took his oath of office before Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin on Friday morning.

He replaced Medardo de Lemos, who was picked by Marcos to lead the NBI in 2022. De Lemos, a long-time career official, retired from service.

Santiago finished BS Criminology at the Philippine College of Criminology from 1978 to 1988 and took up Law at the Manuel L. Quezon University from 1989 to 1993.

He served at the Philippine National Police (PNP) Western Police District (WPD) from 1979 to 2000. As a dutiful police officer at the WPD, he went against sinister individuals who threatened the peace and order in Manila.

A sharpshooter from the Special Weapons and Tactics team during his heyday in Manila's Finest, Santiago rose to fame, his life featured in a 1996 Filipino biographical action film.

Santiago served as Criminal Law professor at the Emilio Aguinaldo College, Philippine College of Criminology and Emilio Aguinaldo College.

He also served as the acting executive/presiding judge of the Regional Trial Courts in the cities of Manila and Tagaytay, and a former Metropolitan Trial Court judge of Manila City.

Santiago served as the assistant city prosecutor of the Department of Justice-Office of the City Prosecutor from October 2003 to December 2006.

Santiago is also a former deputy executive vice president of the Philippine Judges Association and former president of the Metropolitan and City Judges Association of the Philippines.

He was also named one of the 10 Outstanding Policemen of the Philippines by the Philippine Jaycees in 2009 and Outstanding Criminologist by the Professional Regulation Commission in 2012.