Justice Undersecretary Jose Vicente Salazar sought own relief, says DOJ

The Department of Justice (DOJ) on Wednesday clarified that the relief of Justice Undersecretary Jose Vicente Salazar as “undersecretary-in-charge” of the Bureau of Immigration (BI) was not connected with the human trafficking case involving one of his security escorts.

In fact, Justice Undersecretary Francisco Baraan said it was Salazar himself who asked Justice Secretary Leila de Lima to revoke the memorandum orders she had issued directing him to supervise the operation of the BI.

“Undersecretary Salazar was not being punished or reprimanded because of the incident,” Baraan said in a news conference at the DOJ.