Torre earned PNP post on merit, not on Duterte arrest – Marbil
AUGUST 18, 2024 Philippine National Police (PNP) Chief General Rommel Franciso Marbil PHOTO FROM PNP FB PAGE
MANILA, Philippines — Outgoing Philippine National Police (PNP) chief Gen. Rommel Marbil maintained that President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. chose the nation’s next top cop, Maj. Gen. Nicolas Torre III, for his leadership.
This was Marbil’s response in a chance interview with reporters in Camp Crame on Friday, when asked if Torre’s appointment was a reward for arresting former President Rodrigo Duterte.
“It’s the prerogative of the president, but the guy is good. When you’re here as the chief PNP, it’s not about what you contributed before, but how you will lead a big organization,” Marbil said in a mix of Filipino and English.
“I guess that’s one fact that our president saw, that General Torre can lead the 232,000-strong Philippine National Police,” the outgoing chief stressed.
READ: Nicolas Torre III, who led Rodrigo Duterte arrest, is new PNP chief
Torre, currently the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) director, was the ground commander of the police team that served the International Criminal Police Organization (Interpol) warrant to arrest Duterte last March.
Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin announced Torre’s appointment as the next PNP chief in a Palace briefing Thursday, setting the turnover of command ceremony on Monday, June 2.
‘Just part of the job’
Marbil has long maintained that Duterte’s arrest was in line with the law enforcement agency’s commitment to the Philippine Center for Transnational Crime (PCTC).
Even in his final days as the nation’s top cop, Marbil insisted, “The person had a warrant. So, we have to help the PCTC to serve the warrant. If we’re bashed for it, it’s just part of the job.”
READ: Imee Marcos to Ombudsman: Probe gov’t execs who gave Duterte to ICC
Earlier this May, Senate foreign relations committee chairperson Sen. Imee Marcos recommended that the Ombudsman investigate Marbil, Torre, and other government officials for Duterte’s arrest.
READ: PNP says Marbil, Torre ready to face possible raps over Duterte arrest
However, according to PNP Spokesperson Brig. Gen. Jean Fajardo in a previous press briefing, Marbil and Torre were “prepared to answer any and all charges before any proper forum.”
The now-outgoing and incoming PNP chiefs “believe they acted within the bounds of law and the mandate of their office,” Fajardo added.
Duterte was arrested and brought to face the International Criminal Court in The Hague, Netherlands for allegations of crimes against humanity during his administration’s bloody anti-drug campaign. /jpv
