MANILA, Philippines — Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. abruptly fired his national police chief Tuesday, just months after appointing him, amid reported tensions over leadership changes within the force, officials said.
Gen. Nicolas Torre, who led the controversial arrests of former President Rodrigo Duterte and televangelist Apollo Quiboloy, was removed from his post effective immediately, according to Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin. Torre had been appointed in May and was set to serve until 2027.
In a letter made public Tuesday, Bersamin instructed Torre to “ensure the proper turnover of all matters, documents and information relative to your office” and directed him to step down on Marcos’ orders. Torre was not immediately available for comment.
The dismissal comes amid reported clashes between Torre and government officials over his decision to remove more than a dozen police commanders from their posts, including his eventual successor, Gen. Jose Melencio Nartatez Jr. The National Police Commission ordered the reinstatement of those officers earlier this month, but the move was not fully implemented, officials said.
Interior Secretary Jonvic Remulla defended the president’s decision, telling reporters that Torre “did not violate any laws, he has not been charged criminally or administratively.” The removal, Remulla said, was “simply a choice of the president to take a new direction for the national police.”
Remulla emphasized that Marcos and Torre had maintained a “wonderful and productive relationship” but added, “We are a country of laws and not of men, that the institutions must be larger than the people who run it.” He declined to elaborate further, noting only the president could fully explain the rationale. It remained unclear whether Torre would be offered another government post.
Torre’s tenure was marked by two high-stakes operations that drew international scrutiny. In March, he led the chaotic arrest of Duterte at Manila’s international airport and his transfer to International Criminal Court detention in the Netherlands. Duterte, who finished his six-year term in 2022, faces allegations of crimes against humanity over his deadly “war on drugs,” which left thousands of mostly poor suspects dead in police-led crackdowns. Duterte has denied ordering extrajudicial killings but previously threatened to kill suspected drug traffickers.
Last year, Torre also oversaw the arrest of Quiboloy, a influential Duterte ally and founder of the Kingdom of Jesus Christ church. Quiboloy is on the FBI’s most-wanted list, indicted in the U.S. for allegedly sexually abusing and trafficking underage girls. He has denied the charges and remains detained in a Manila jail pending extradition proceedings.
Just days before his removal, Torre had showcased a new anti-crime “battle room” at national police headquarters to Marcos, highlighting efforts to streamline responses to law-and-order crises within five minutes.
Nartatez, a senior police general, assumed command Tuesday.
