[Rappler Investigates] When Torre’s tower collapsed (2025)

SUMMARY

This is AI generated summarization, which may have errors. For context, always refer to the full article.

Philippine National Police (PNP) Chief PBGen Nicolas Torre III speaks during a briefing on current issues involving the police organization, at the PNP Headquarters in Camp Crame, on July 8, 2025.

Jire Carreon/Rappler

Meanwhile, the cynics are thinking this is ultimately about power and money and this will manifest if not today, then sometime down the road

Not a few were taken aback by the sudden relief of General Nicolas Torre III as chief of the Philippine National Police (PNP). In the eyes of many, he was a good soldier who followed tough orders that the weak of heart would have failed to carry out: haul off the obstinate Rodrigo Duterte to The Hague and arrest the elusive Kingdom of Jesus Christ leader Apollo Quiboloy. No wonder the brigadier general became major general then ascended to four-star general rank rather swiftly. The stars were hard-earned and well-deserved.

The route to the PNP headquarters in Camp Crame was shortened considerably as police and justice reporter Jairo Bolledo had witnessed. Take a step back and review the stories about Torre that tracked his ascent to the top all the way to his unforeseen collapse:

Davao Region police chief: ‘We’re not leaving until we catch Quiboloy’
Nicolas Torre, Davao’s top cop who led Quiboloy arrest, is new CIDG chief
CIDG chief Nicolas Torre III is new PNP chief
Nicolas Torre’s journey from South Cotabato to Camp Crame
Under Torre, police anti-crime campaign returns to intensified arrests
Torre is sacked. So what happened there?
Why did Marcos remove Torre? New position, sanction, or something else?

To those who have an inkling of the dynamics between Torre and the local government boss Jonvic Remulla (some quarters observed this especially during the Duterte arrest operation), it is clear that there was no mutual liking between the two, only obligatory civility and perhaps a clash of androgenic egos.

This could no longer be contained when the issue of appointments erupted. The National Police Commission’s vice chair and executive officer, lawyer Ralph Calinisan — known to be on the same ringside as Remulla — joined the fray. It’s a matter of civilian oversight over the police — went the framing, which happened to be accurate too, but which might have obscured the real and genuine reasons for the unceremonious removal of Torre.

Notice the fingers pointing to the President (known to be averse to confrontation and conflict) and the clear-as-day pampalubag-loob float of a “non-offer of a supposed new job offer” (yes, that’s intentionally twisted and convoluted because it really is). It’s been two days since Torre’s ouster and the new post that could be waiting for his acceptance remains secret, if not imaginary, as of writing this Thursday morning. It’s the President’s personal decision, goes the official line.

Those who don’t like the Dutertes are saying this isn’t the right way to treat someone who did the dirty job of making the unthinkable arrest of the former president actually happen. Wasn’t he at the receiving end of curses and wasn’t he hit with a cellphone at the height of a scuffle?

Those who don’t like the Marcoses are likely chiming in and saying one can never trust a Marcos. How he treated Torre is proof enough of why — you don’t mistreat a good soldier who obeys tough orders and is willing to stand by you. Buti pa si Duterte, they would say. Very bad optics, this one.

Meanwhile, the cynics are thinking this is ultimately about power and money and this will manifest if not today, then sometime down the road. Torre already spoke up and said “no hard feelings” on his part as he considers his future. His replacement, three-star general Jose Melencio Nartatez Jr., an Ilocano like the President, already took over the PNP command, but Torre’s four stars remain with him. Because there can only be one four-star general, Nartatez will have to wait for either Torre’s retirement (March 11, 2027 yet, unless he opts for an earlier one) or the former PNP chief’s acceptance of a new assignment.

Flood control

To journalists who have very short attention spans driven by a rapidly changing news cycle, the Torre incident is a distraction from flood control project investigations, and yes, even the PrimeWater disasters of the Villars and the Supreme Court’s ruling on the Sara Duterte impeachment trial.

But we have not forgotten. I assure you, the digging continues.

As my colleague Glenda Gloria previously wrote in her newsletter, Rappler’s Best, we’ve been flooded with tips and information about dubious flood control projects and contractors who partnered (or connived?) with politicians out to make a killing and defraud ordinary citizens like you and me — and then shamelessly just get away with it.

Recall that it all began with Chiz Escudero and his ties to top contractor Lawrence Lubiano of Centerways Construction and Development Incorporated, which ranked seventh in the Marcos shit list of contractors with the largest flood control contracts. But there’s more we uncovered.

Politicians and big government projects, we found, are as closely intertwined as the Department of Public Works and Highways is with corruption (sorry, DPWH, but your level of corruption is really revolting).

Party-list representative Edwin Gardiola of Construction Workers Solidarity, for example, has ably demonstrated how a smart navigation of Congress and the opportunities it opens up can produce tremendous wealth and prop up an opulent lifestyle. Our House reporter Dwight de Leon explains more in this video about Gardiola and his construction empire.