The appointment of General Nicolas Torre III as the new chief of the Philippine National Police (PNP) has drawn negative reactions from the Duterte siblings.
Vice President Sara Duterte simply laughed when asked to comment during a media interview, with some describing such reaction as a mockery.
Her youngest brother, Davao City Mayor Sebastian ‘Baste’ Duterte, also criticized the appointment, questioning the manner in which Torre was chosen. He claimed that Torre’s promotion was not based on merit but was instead a favor from the Marcos administration.
Torre was instrumental in the high-profile operations of the PNP in recent months, which included the arrests of former President Rodrigo Duterte and longtime ally megachurch leader Apollo Quiboloy.
“It wasn’t a promotion based on merits, but a promotion based on ‘pabor-pabor’ (favoritism),” Baste said in videoclip release online.
Quiboloy, wanted for human trafficking and abuse of a minor, is now detained in Pasig City, while the Duterte patriarch, who was arrested for crimes against humanity, is now in the custody of the International Criminal Court (ICC) at The Hague, Netherlands.
Despite the Duterte siblings’ objections, the PNP regional office in Davao released a congratulatory video message for Torre, expressing pride in his leadership and pledging full support.
Before his appointment, Torre served as Regional Director of Davao and was later promoted to head the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG).
Torre formally accepted his new role on Monday when he was sworn into office by President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr. following the retirement ceremony of erstwhile PNP chief retired Gen. Rommel Francisco Marbil.
