Dark horse in the 2028 presidential election

A dark horse emerges in the 2028 presidential election. He’s none other than the new Philippine National Police chief, Gen. Nicolas Torre III. This prediction will raise eyebrows among the perennial aspirants—politicians who constantly engage in political circus, perform song and dance numbers, and deliver slapstick speeches, all in aid of ambitions to get enthroned in Malacañang Palace.

Even before his appointment as top cop, Torre had achieved two monumental feats. These were the arrests of our country’s biggest and most notorious criminals, namely Apollo Quiboloy and Rodrigo Duterte. Torre’s authoritative but peaceful demeanor, and his demonstration of guts and grit in implementing the arrests, earned him the admiration of anti-Duterte groups, such as Marcos supporters and pink/yellow forces. For sure, the twin arrests have likewise earned Torre the attention of the politically undecided and have engendered notice from the soft supporters of the Dutertes, who will be prone to abandon ship once they see the massive evidence of corruption against Vice President Sara Duterte in her impeachment trial, and the brutality of the mass murder masterminded by Rodrigo Duterte as will be presented in his International Criminal Court trial.

Now that he’s appointed as PNP chief, the national stage is set for Torre’s political future to be even brighter, if he stays the course. Crimes are on the rise, and lawbreakers have become brazen. The drug menace is rearing its ugly head once again. As leader of our nation’s civilian security force, with the state’s full police arsenal at his disposal, and with marching orders from the President, it would take a monumental blunder for Torre to lose the battle against rogues in our streets. He has the benefit of hindsight, which should guide him to avoid the bloody, violent, and crooked means employed by the previous administration. He must completely differentiate himself from the murderous reign of the Dutertes and still achieve the objective of clearing our communities of rascals.

Torre has the background and traits that are attractive to the masses. He’s a political outsider who doesn’t have the political baggage that turns off many of our voters. In our recent elections, we saw an embryonic aversion to traditional politicians and several political dynasties. Even more telling, we saw the electorate emphatically spurning entertainers and media personalities. Torre can easily ride the wave of this emerging political trend and hugely benefit from it.

Torre has a modicum of the rough and gruff character, which enamors the masses. He was born in Jolo, Sulu, and was raised in South Cotabato. He’s a Mindanaoan who can loosen the Duterte grip on Visayas and Mindanao voters. He is the son of a constabulary sergeant and a teacher, with a modest background that will assure ordinary people that he can relate to their problems and that he understands their aspirations. The fact that he grew up from humble beginnings, that he rose from the ranks, and that he was not born with a silver spoon like an overwhelming majority of our leaders—who are increasingly despised by voters—will resonate with endearment among the masses. Torre is also the first graduate of the Philippine National Police Academy to become PNP chief, breaking the stranglehold of the more elitist Philippine Military Academy. With his police background, he fits the strongman mold that a sizable chunk of our voters, rightly or wrongly, feel should characterize our leaders.

Even with his observable positive qualities thus far, Torre has feet of clay. He has committed missteps in the past, and will most likely commit blunders again. One example is his “paramihan (ng huli)” directive to police officers as performance metrics in the campaign against drug peddlers, for which he was justly criticized by the Commission on Human Rights, because it may again lead to police abuses for promotion purposes. But Torre has demonstrated the capacity for remorse by apologizing for a mistake and even admitting liability by resigning from his post, as he had both done in the past.

In an ideal world, our country’s next president should either be former Vice President Leni Robredo or Sen. Risa Hontiveros. The early campaign to burnish their credentials for the electorate to consider them as our country’s next chief executive should go on. However, we must deepen the bench of potential candidates, because we may direly need alternative leaders, such as Torre, in the event voters continue to search and long for traits they find wanting in our current crop of politicians. The objective is to offer to the people the strongest candidate who will have the biggest chance of preventing the return of the Dutertes, because that will spell disastrous consequences for our country.