Torre Ousted! PNP Chief Falls From Power in Shocking Palace Order

In a stunning and painful twist at Camp Crame, Police General Nicolas Torre III was booted out as chief of the Philippine National Police (PNP) after barely three months in office. The Palace confirmed the shocking removal on Tuesday, leaving the police force reeling in disbelief.

The relief order, signed by Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin and dated August 25, 2025, took effect immediately. Torre, once hailed as a history-maker for being the first Philippine National Police Academy graduate to lead the PNP, was ordered to hand over all documents and matters tied to his office—effective that very hour.

Malacañang gave no direct reason for the dismissal. But whispers inside the Palace revealed President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. was angered by Torre’s bold reshuffling of top cops—moves carried out without the blessing of the President, the DILG, or the National Police Commission (Napolcom).

“That, among other things, was part of the consideration of the President,” Interior Secretary Jonvic Remulla admitted, his tone heavy with disappointment.

In Torre’s place, Lt. Gen. Jose Melencio Nartatez Jr.—ironically one of the generals Torre had exiled to Mindanao—was pulled back to serve as officer-in-charge of the PNP.

Napolcom, in a stinging rebuke, had already voided Torre’s controversial reshuffle through a formal memorandum.

The move stunned political observers and left the police community divided. Remulla confessed that while removing Torre was “difficult,” it had to be done for the sake of the law. “The national security apparatus must always work within the framework of the law,” he stressed.

Even former PNP chief-turned-Senator Panfilo “Ping” Lacson weighed in, slamming Torre’s actions. “He acted beyond his authority,” Lacson said, pointing out that relieving top command posts should never be a one-man decision.

Torre’s fall from grace is all the more heartbreaking because of his once-storied rise. He had led the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) that arrested former President Rodrigo Duterte at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport in March. Just months earlier, he made headlines for leading the arrest of Kingdom of Jesus Christ founder Apollo Quiboloy in Davao City.

Now, the man once hailed as the “game-changer” chief has been forced to bow out—his dream tenure cut short, his command ended not with applause, but with a Palace order.