Acting Davao Mayor Baste Duterte Speaks on Pres. Bongbong Marcos Relieving Nicolas Torre as PNP Chief
BASTE DUTERTE – The acting Davao Mayor was asked about the relief of Nicolas Torre III as the chief of the Philippine National Police (PNP).
Malacañang shocked countless Filipinos when it released a letter early yesterday announcing the order of Pres. Bongbong Marcos for Nicolas Torre III to be relieved from his post as PNP chief. It was not stated in the letter why Marcos Jr. decided to remove him from his position.
It was in may when Pres. Bongbong Marcos appointed then Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) chief Nicolas Torre III to succeed then PNP chief Rommel Francisco Marbil who was retiring in his post. The said appointment earned criticisms from the Duterte supporters.
Torre played a significant role in the transfer of the custody of former Pres. Rodrigo Roa Duterte to the International Criminal Court in The Hague, Netherlands. He allegedly “forced” the former Chief Executive to get on a plane bound for Dubai en route for The Hague.
The Duterte siblings have criticized Torre multiple times in separate statements. When he was appointed as PNP chief, then-Davao Mayor Baste Duterte vocally expressed his side over the promotion of his father’s arrester.
Then-Davao Mayor Baste Duterte claimed that the promotion of Nicolas Torre III as PNP chief is allegedly not based on merits. According to him, his promotion is supposedly based on favor.
In the 2025 Midterm Elections, the younger Duterte won as vice mayor in Davao City while his father won the mayoralty race. However, he is currently the acting Mayor of the city amid the detention of the former President inside the ICC detention facility in The Hague since March.
Acting Davao Mayor Baste Duterte is currently in The Hague, Netherlands. The Duterte family members are taking turns in visiting their father inside the ICC detention facility. Recently, he was asked about his side on the relief of Nicolas Torre III as PNP chief.
According to acting Davao Mayor Baste, he was not able to mention to his father about his relief. He stressed that he really does not care about Torre.
When asked if he thinks that the relief of Nicolas Torre III is just a diversionary tactic of Malacañang, acting Davao Mayor Baste Duterte answered in the negative. Based on a post of ABS-CBN News, during an interview in The Hague, he admitted his belief that the relieved PNP Chief is really “demoted”.
“Hindi ko talaga alam. Pero, no, hindi talaga. Kasi kung naging chief PNP ka na, tingin ko demoted talaga siya kasi wala nang mas mataas pa diyan eh sa pagka-pulis mo, ‘di ba?” Duterte said.
Furthermore, during the interview, acting Davao Mayor Baste Duterte also expressed his belief that there is allegedly an internal conflict that led to the relief of Nicolas Torre III as PNP chief. He also stressed that the statement from the Palace did not explain the move into details.
“Hindi ka na man pwedeng ilagay sa ibang ano, appointed position, NBI. Demoted siya so tingin ko may internal conflict talaga na nangyari diyan… Hindi naman din clear ‘yung statement ng Malacañang kung bakit siya tinanggal,” the acting Davao Mayor said.
Aside from the acting Davao Mayor, another person from the Duterte camp, former PNP chief-turned-Senator Bato dela Rosa also reacted to the relief of Nicolas Torre III as PNP chief.