President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. praised former Philippine National Police (PNP) chief General Nicolas Torre III, saying his relief was due to differences with the National Police Commission (NAPOLCOM) and not loss of confidence.

In the third part of the fourth episode of his BBM Podcast, aired on Tuesday, President Marcos clarified that Torre’s relief was not due to loss of confidence or other reasons.

“Napaka-simple lang (ng reason of the relief). Hindi talaga sila magkasundo ng NAPOLCOM. Talaga sinasabi niya, I (Torre) don’t agree with what they do. Eh pinapaliwag (ko sa kanya), chain of command ‘yan, that’s (NAPOLCOM) the civilian authority. Hindi mo pwedeng hindi-an yan,” the President noted.

“Sabi niya (Torre), hindi ko talaga kaya gawin. Sabi ko, ire-relieve kita. Sabi niya, what can I do? I think he was also like a good commander who was protecting his people,” President Marcos added.

The President ordered Torre’s relief on August 26 and was replaced by PNP chief Lt. Gen. Jose Melencio Nartatez Jr.

When further pressed on whether loss of confidence was the reason for Torre’s relief, the President maintained, “No, he did such (good)… ang galing na pulis.”

During his fourth State of the Nation Address (Sona), President Marcos took a light turn when he hailed the country’s boxing heroes for being role models — and then included Torre, who had recently emerged victorious in a charity boxing bout against acting Davao City Mayor Sebastian Duterte, as the latter had defaulted because he did not show up.

“Ang galing na pulis. Talaga, so… Don’t worry. Ako, pag ako may nakilala ako na marunong na ganiyan, it just has to find his niche kung ano ba talaga ‘yung – well, specialty niya is police work,” the President noted.

“And so we’ll find a way to avail of his talents,” the Chief Executive emphasized. | PND