Torre can’t serve both MMDA, PNP–Remulla
As far as Interior Secretary Jonvic Remulla is concerned, former Philippine National Police chief Nicolas Torre III cannot remain in the police force while serving as general manager of the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA).
“He is wrong. That is not allowed, plain and simple. You cannot hold two government positions at the same time,” Remulla said on Thursday in a press briefing at Camp Crame.
If Torre continues to draw his salary from the PNP while working at the MMDA, he will be required to return any compensation he received from his previous post, Remulla added.
On Wednesday, the PNP Directorate for Personnel and Records Management released General Order No. NHQ-GO-OR-2026-330 dated Jan. 19, announcing Torre’s formal retirement from the police service with the approval of the National Police Commission (Napolcom).
Torre, however, told reporters in an ambush interview on Thursday that he did not apply for optional retirement from the PNP.
“I did not sign any application either. So let’s leave it at that for now because my bosses and I will talk first,” he said.
When asked if there could be a problem with him working for the MMDA despite the fact that he was still with the PNP, Torre said, “It’s not the first time that a police officer has worked for other agencies.”
President’s prerogative
“There are many active police officers who just returned to the PNP, including high-ranking police officers who stayed for 10 years with the Bureau of Immigration. This is not the first time and it certainly won’t be the last,” he added. “Because it is the option of the President to deploy people as he sees fit.”
Remulla, meanwhile, said the government cannot force Torre to retire from the police service.
“He is not retiring, so there’s nothing we can do. We cannot force a person to retire. It is his option,” he added.
Remulla said that Torre was granted full benefits, although he emphasized that the final determination rests with Malacañang, the appointing authority.
“We granted him full benefits, but let’s wait for Malacañang to give the full picture because Malacañang is the appointing authority. We are just the processing agency,” he said.
Torre’s “nonretirement” poses a problem for his successor, Lt. Gen. Jose Melencio Nartatez Jr., who cannot assume the four-star rank of police general traditionally held by a full-fledged PNP chief.
Torre was removed from his post on Aug. 26, 2025, after a dispute with Napolcom over his reassignment of several senior PNP officials.
