Remulla: Torre still has Marcos’ trust, may get new post
Gen. Nicolas Torre III may have been suddenly removed as chief of the Philippine National Police, but it may not be the end of the line for the career of one of the most popular appointees of President Marcos.
This was according to Interior Secretary Jonvic Remulla, the very official with whom Torre had clashed over the top-tier revamp that the general tried to push in the PNP.
“He is being considered for another position because the President still believes in his capacity,” Remulla said at a press briefing in Camp Crame on Tuesday, hours after the Palace released the Aug. 25 memo from Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin relieving Torre as PNP chief.
“General Torre has been informed of his relief. He has the option of retiring (early) or staying,” Remulla said of Torre, who will reach the mandatory age of retirement of 56 on March 11, 2027.
The question of whether Torre would keep his four-star rank after his removal as PNP chief is up to the National Police Commission (Napolcom) to decide, he explained.
According to the interior secretary, he informed Torre of his relief through at least five phone calls on Monday night.
Replacing Torre in the top PNP post effective Tuesday was Lt. Gen. Jose Melencio Nartatez Jr., former deputy chief for administration and current Area Police Command Western Mindanao commander.
If Torre does not opt to retire, Nartatez said, “he’d be posted at the Office of the Chief PNP or at the PHAU (Personnel Holding and Accounting Unit).”
“Nobody can force a PNP (officer) to retire. It’s his right. Here, of course, there was an order for his relief and I have my designation. I follow,” he added.
‘Beyond his authority’
In the absence of a full, official explanation for Torre’s relief, lawmakers weighed in on the Palace decision.
Sen. Panfilo Lacson, who served as PNP chief from 1999 to 2001, noted that Torre acted “beyond his authority [in] unilaterally relieving his second-in-command, Nartatez.”
Lacson explained that the designation and relief of members of the PNP Command Group—including the deputies for administration and for operations, and the chief of the directorial staff—must be approved by the President or at least coordinated with the interior secretary in his capacity as ex officio chair of Napolcom.
“Even when (then) President Joseph Estrada gave me the blanket authority to run and manage the PNP during my time as chief PNP, I did not exercise absolute authority over the designations of the members of the Command Group,” the senator recalled.
Lacson said the decision to relieve Torre was the sole prerogative of the President, adding: “What is important at this point is a smooth transition and transfer of command and authority so as not to hamper the overall mission of the PNP.”
“Those close to the outgoing chief PNP will understandably be disappointed. Bottom line is, the PNP, just like the AFP or any uniformed organization, is composed of professional men and women who are trained to obey legal orders from the duly constituted authority,” he said.
Imee sees ‘karma’
Sen. Imee Marcos said she had personally warned Torre about karma after he “demoted” Nartatez.
“I called him out and said: ‘Hey, why is it like that? That will come back to you, be careful.’ I didn’t know I would turn out to be right, and I apologize—I had no idea,” she said in a chance interview.
Senate President Francis Escudero expressed surprise at Torre’s removal, but acknowledged the President’s prerogative to change the PNP leadership.
As to Torre’s four-star rank, Escudero said, “as far as I know… as long as he doesn’t retire the four-star rank remains with him. There can’t really be two four-star [generals] in the PNP.”
Sen. Ronald dela Rosa, another former PNP chief and loyal ally of former President Rodrigo Duterte, said what happened to Torre only proved that “nothing lasts forever.”
Months before becoming PNP chief in June, Torre had incurred the ire of Duterte supporters especially after leading the PNP operation to have the ex-president arrested in March on orders of the International Criminal Court.
Torre also shot to national fame when he led the manhunt and successful arrest of televangelist Apollo Quiboloy, a wealthy Duterte supporter and so-called spiritual adviser, in Davao City in August last year. —WITH A REPORT FROM DEXTER CABALZA
