National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) Officer-in-Charge Director Eric B. Distor has appointed Christopher M. Paz as head of the agency’s Cybercrime Division (NBI-CCD).
Acting NBI-CCD Chief Michelle Valdez now heads the NBI’s Digital Forensic Laboratory (NBI-DFL) which used to be under Paz.
NBI Deputy Director Ferdinand M. Lavin said on Wednesday, June 22, the designations have nothing to do with the ongoing investigation being conducted by the NBI’s Internal Affairs Division (NBI-IAD) on the NBI-CCD.
Justice Secretary Menardo I. Guevarra previously disclosed that the NBI-IAD investigation concerns “the service of a warrant to search, seize, and examine computer data in a certain establishment in Manila last May 31 where some alleged irregularities were observed.”
Lavin said the re-assignments of the heads of the two units was done in the “exercise of executive and management prerogative of the Director.”
In the meantime, Lavin said the NBI is “still awaiting the outcome of IAD investigation.”
Distor had relieved Assistant Regional Director Victor V. Lorenzo as head of the NBI’s Cybercrime Investigation and Assessment Center (CIAC) and ordered the NBI-IAD to investigate the NBI-CCD over an alleged anomalous operation disclosed by Guevarra.
Valdez was assigned NBI-CCD acting chief after Lorenzo’s promotion as head of NBI-CIAC.