Police General Nicolas Torre III was removed from his position on Tuesday, August 26, just three months into his tenure as the nation’s top policeman, amid a publicized showdown with the National Police Commission (Napolcom) in a row over a divisive reorganization of major police officers.
Torre’s relief was signed by Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin in a Palace memorandum on August 25, requiring the transfer of “all relevant documents and affairs” so police activities may run smoothly.
Napolcom vs. Torre
Torre’s relief was just eight days after he broke his silence reacting to Napolcom’s unprecedented move blocking his reshuffling of significant officials, including Lieutenant Generals Jose Melencio Nartatez Jr. and Bernard Banac.
In Resolution 2025-0531, Napolcom set aside Torre’s order and restored to their previous positions the officers who were affected, invoking the power of the commission to examine police appointments.
Torre played down the split, saying in an interview that the problem was “solved” between the PNP and Napolcom but he declined to elaborate.
That squabble, though, now seems to serve as the first act of his brief tenure.
Rapid succession
Hours later, when the news of Torre’s relief was reported, Interior Secretary Jonvic Remulla confirmed that Nartatez, who was one of the officers Torre attempted to reassign, was installed by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. as the new PNP chief.
Nartatez, a member of the Philippine Military Academy Class of 1989, takes over an organization already divided by internal reshuffling and bruised by the Palace’s swift intervention.
Why Napolcom’s move matters
Napolcom usually confirms but rarely reverses the PNP chief’s decisions regarding assignments. It did three things simultaneously in voiding Torre’s reshuffling, including:
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Undercut the authority of the chief. Torre’s authority to reorganize was rendered nugatory, illustrating his control of Camp Crame was tenuous.
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Revealed political undertones. Torre’s attempt to transfer Nartatez—his successor—suggests that he had wrongly estimated Malacañang’s preference.
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Revived old questions. How independent should the PNP chief really be when civilian administrators can just step in at will? It makes the PNP chief a ceremonial post to critics, and to its admirers, a guarantee of accountability.
Torre’s fall, from being the first Philippine National Police Academy alumnus to lead the PNP to being unseated in less than three months, is now a cautionary tale: organizational loyalty matters, but political alignment matters more.
A brief, turbulent reign
Torre, who did not take the most senior PNP position until June 2, 2025, is leaving a mix of legacy of bold efforts and controversies behind:
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He introduced a “5-minute police response” policy in Metro Manila and declared that the Commission on Human Rights was “our boss on human rights protection.”
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As head of the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG), he led the arrest and rendition of former president Rodrigo Duterte to The Hague in March and of fugitive preacher Apollo Quiboloy in late 2024.
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He was also called out by the Court of Appeals for negligence in a case involving a missing activist.
He would’ve remained in position until his mandatory retirement in March 2027. His removal, however, highlights just how precarious the PNP leadership is, determined not just by performance but by political alignment and institutional power politics.
What’s next
The Marcos administration signals a reset in the country’s top law enforcement office with Nartatez now at the helm.
But the more fundamental question is still this: who holds the reins in Camp Crame – the uniform-wearing chief, or the appointing authorities who are civilians?
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