People will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.
— American memoirist and civil rights activist Maya Angelou

MAYPAJO, Caloocan City — There is a saying, “no one is indispensable” and it simply
means that every person is replaceable and no individual is so essential that they cannot be done without.
And in the dismissal of General Nicolas Torre III, it suggests that anyone can be let go or removed and the organization, role, or even the world can continue to function without them, possibly by substituting another person in their place.
Born in Jolo, Sulu, Torre is the first graduate from the Philippine National Police Academy (PNPA). He graduated from the Academy under the Tagapaglunsad Class of 1993.
The truth is that no amount of accomplishments, honesty and dedication can protect honest-to-goodness public servants from being sacked—just like what happened to our erstwhile PNP chief who was unceremoniously relieved over what many thought was a simple turf war.
Still, the documents we obtained show that the reason behind Torre’s removal is more of 'insurbordination'. This was the result of his alleged refusal to sign an “accomplished request” for an ₱80 billion funding for the proposed ₱8 billion arms procurement deal of the Philippine National (PNP).
The request—if Torre had affixed his signature—would have been brought to House Speaker Ferdinand Martin Romualdez, who wields the power to include (if not insert) the 10 percent of the ₱80 billion funding in the PNP’s 2026 budget.
In effect, Torre's refusal to sign the 'request' earned the ire of interior and local government secretary Juanito Victor 'Jonvic' Remulla Jr., who belongs to the Caviteño clan known for its vindictiveness and short-temper of people who disobey orders.
Thus Torre’s 85-day stint as the country’s 'Top Cop' is now considered as one of the shortest since the creation of the Philippine National Police (PNP) in 1991. It's funny to note, too, that he took over the reins of the national police from the twice extended 30th chief of the PNP, (retired) Gen. Rommel Francisco Marbil.

Need for Internal Security

Going back to his refusal to sign the ₱8 billion deal, it was explained that Torre did so because he rationalized that the PNP is a civilian agency and buying 80,000 units of 5.56 mm assault rifles is something that should be rightfully done by the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP).
Yet the memorandum Torre was asked to sign justified the 'Request for Endorsement and Budget Support' that would help the PNP in its program for Firearms Capability Enhancement. The justification for acquiring the assault rifles was because the PNP is now focused on internal security operations (ISO) and would thus need such an armory, even as the Armed Forces is focused on external defense.
Stated in the memo: “The shift in operational landscape (. . .) has exposed critical gaps in our force readiness, most notably in firepower capability. While the PNP remains committed to fulfilling its mandate, the current inventory of basic assault rifles is insufficient to meet the growing demand of ISO units across all operational areas.”
Furthermore, it asserted: “We believe this proposal aligns with national priorities on peace and order, public safety and territorial integrity.”

Obedience is the Key

Torre's appointment as PNP chief came right after he successfully coerced former President Rodrigo 'Rody' Duterte into boarding the flight bound for The Hague, to face trial over charges of crimes against humanity filed before the International Criminal Court in the Netherlands.
At the time, he headed the PNP’s Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG). A somewhat challenging position, he was good soldier who followed the orders of his superiors, though he has had his share of blunders.
Prior to his arrest of Duterte, Torre (then a regional director) led the police contingent that captured the fugitive religious leader, Kingdom of Jesus Christ pastor Apollo Quiboloy, who had been charged in the United States (and eventually here) with 'heinous' crimes that included human trafficking and sexual abuse. Quiboloy had tried to elude his predicament by hiding in the comforts and security of his sprawling estate in Davao City.

Overreaching His Authority

Malacañan released Torre’s relief order without any explanation, prompting former justice secretary and Mamamayang Liberal (ML) party-list representative Leila Norma Eulalia Josefa De Lima to say “there better be a good reason for it (his ouster as PNP Chief).”
Senator Panfilo Lacson, who served as PNP chief under the administration of President Joseph 'Erap' Estrada, surmised that Torre might have 'overreached' his functions by relieving his deputy without consulting President Marcos Jr. and his superiors in the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) and likewise the National Police Commission (NaPolCom).
The President, Lacson explained, is the ultimate head of the PNP and when Torre relieved his second-in-commend—Lieutenant General Jose Melencio Nartatez Jr.—the erstwhile PNP chief, hailed by President Marcos Jr. as 'the new champion in the fourth State of the Nation Address (SoNA)—may have angered the NaPolCom, which later defused Torre’s radical style of reorganizational of the national police force.
The police commission then instructed Torre to reinstate Nartatez but Torre, however, refused to give in to the directive.
Interestingly, NaPolCom Resolution 0699 (series of 2023) clearly provides the power of the PNP chief—to designate officers to key positions in the PNP pursuant to his authority under Section 26, Chapter III of the Republic Act 6975 (as amended). It further stated that “future designations of third level officials or positions that would entail promotions to a higher rank are
left to the authority of the PNP chief.”

Challenge from 'Baste'

In his short but certainly picturesque career as PNP chief, Torre maybe best remembered for accepting a fistfight challenge by Davao City mayor Sebastian 'Baste' Duterte—but with an interesting twist.
He arranged a pay-per-view boxing match with the proceeds going to the victims of the vicious typhoons that struck the country in July.
On the day of the match and despite the Rizal Memorial Coliseum being filled to the rafters, the young Duterte was a 'no show', for which the police general was declared winner by default. As per Mayor Duterte’s own admission, he flew to Singapore—but he quickly followed that he would be available any day upon the mayor's return.
But then, more than Torre’s effortless boxing match win, the event generated some ₱16 million sponsorship and ticket sales which were given to calamity-affected families, through the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD).

Five-minute Response

The last—but certainly not the least of Torre’s accomplishments is his strict 5-minute response policy through a state-of-the-art 911 emergency hotline manned by tech-savvy cops forming part of the PNP Command Center (PCC), which was relaunched to incorporate analytic capabilities that monitored all occurrences in the country's 18 regions at real time.
According to the PCC's supervisory officer, Colonel Ramon Pranada, the Center is the brainchild of Torre and he proudly disclosed that it does not only have the capacity to receive bulk calls at a time but also gets to monitor police emergency response.

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