MANILA, Philippines — The cybercrime division chief of the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) was relieved from his post yesterday over an allegedly anomalous operation.
NBI officer-in-charge Eric Distor ordered the relief of assistant regional director Vic Lorenzo, who is being investigated by the bureau’s internal affairs division.
Lorenzo is the head of the NBI’s Cybercrime Investigation and Assessment Center. Distor also relieved some of Lorenzo’s agents.
The NBI did not disclose details about Lorenzo’s relief.
The bureau, in a statement, said there was an allegedly anomalous operation involving the cybercrime division.
Before his relief, Lorenzo’s office was tasked to probe the security breach in the system of automated election service provider Smartmatic.
A Smartmatic employee was arrested during a raid last April for allegedly stealing a laptop and leaking its day-to-day internal operational materials to a group of hackers to blackmail the company.
Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra approved the relief of Lorenzo.
“I believe it is standard operating procedure to relieve any NBI official or agent under investigation,” Guevarra said.
“As secretary of justice, my interest is to maintain professionalism, discipline and ethical conduct among the personnel of the NBI,” he added. – Evelyn Macairan