THE head and several officers of the cybercrime division of the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) have been relieved due to an allegedly questionable operation that is now being investigated by the bureau’s Internal Affairs Bureau.
Eric Distor, acting NBI chief, said he has ordered the relief of Assistant Regional Director Victor Lorenzo as head of the NBI-Cybercrime Investigation and Assessment Center (CIAC) as well as other officers of the Cybercrime Division (CCD) pending the results of the investigation.
Distor did not provide details about the allegedly questionable operation but Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra said the relief of Lorenzo was in connection with his team’s service of warrant to search and examine the computer data of an unnamed establishment in Manila last May 31.
“In general, it was about the service of a warrant to search, seize and examine the computer data in a certain establishment in Manila where some alleged irregularities occurred,” Guevarra but did not elaborate.
He said the suspension is a standard operating procedure whenever an NBI official or agent is under investigation by its Internal Affairs Division to preserve evidence and prevent any undue influence during the investigation.
“As Secretary of Justice, my interest is to maintain professionalism, discipline, and ethical conduct among the personnel and operatives of the premier investigating agency in our country,” he said.
“We just want to make sure that similar operations in the future will be conducted in the most professional way,” he also said, adding: “I will leave it to OIC chief Eric Distor to determine ARD Lorenzo’s assignment pending investigation.”
Lorenzo could not be reached for comment.
Distor likewise ordered unit heads of the NBI to first get operational authority from the Office of the Director and said that all operations must be carried out under the control and supervision of his office, with assistance from the respective deputy directors.
“All Regional Directors, Agents-In-Charge and Central Office Chiefs are likewise ordered to submit to the Office of the Director their performance and or accomplishment reports for review,” he also said.
The acting NBI chief also ordered a review of the bureau’s existing cybercrime and other operational guidelines and procedures.
“The NBI will thoroughly reexamine the agency’s guidelines on operations, including service of search warrant operations, intelligence operations, and investigation operations,” he said.
He stressed that a re-assessment and revisiting of the NBI’s operational guidelines seeks to prevent abuse of authority.
“This review of operational standards and procedures periodically is always necessary as part of management’s response to the increasing role of the NBI to the challenges in a modern and highly technologically advanced society,” he said.
Among the cases investigated by Lorenzo’s office are the alleged data breach earlier this year in the systems of Smartmatic, the technology provider of the Commission on Elections in the recently-concluded local and national elections, the operation of illegal online cockfighting or e-sabong operations, and the alleged lewd videos of outgoing Vice President Leni Robredo’s daughters which went viral in social media before the May 9 elections.
