SCUTTLEBUTT

Torre’s myth crumbles

The meteoric rise of former Philippine National Police (PNP) chief — now on floating status — Gen. Nicolas Torre III was due to his arrest of Apollo Quiboloy and former President Rodrigo Duterte, critical missions where he supposedly showed a strong will to enforce the law.

But that is a myth, according to a PNP insider.

President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. had earlier removed Torre as PNP chief. However, the latter still holds a four-star rank since he remains active in the police service, complicating the appointment of his successor, Lt. Gen. Jose Melencio Nartatez Jr.

The new PNP chief must wait in acting capacity until Torre retires before he can fully assume the post, as police force rules allow only one four-star general at a time.

An insider in the police organization told Nosy Tarsee that behind the successful law enforcement operations credited to Torre was a strategist who was then at the helm of the PNP—P/Gen. Rommel Marbil.

“It took a Nicolas Torre to haul Rodrigo Duterte to The Hague,” screamed a headline after the transfer of the former president to the International Criminal Court (ICC) in the Netherlands.

According to the source, Torre was merely the face of the operations, but the planning, coordination, and command responsibility fell on Marbil.

While the public often heard from the spokesperson, the actual orchestration, intelligence validation, coordination with national and international counterparts, and execution of sensitive orders were directed by Marbil.

“His leadership was the backbone of those missions,” according to the source.

The source explained that the police officials, field commanders, and spokespersons, including Torre, played their parts, but only as implementers and communicators.

Their job was to face the public, explain developments, and act on operational orders. But the decision-making was not theirs.

“Torre was a pawn, the one who spoke about it, but it was Marbil who moved the pieces,” the source said.

The arrest of Quiboloy and the transfer of Duterte to The Hague will be remembered as defining moments in Philippine law enforcement history since these were not routine actions but required steel will, courage, discipline, and command vision.

“For that, credit must be given where it is truly due—to then PNP Chief Rommel Francisco Marbil, whose leadership ensured the success of both missions,” the source said.

Torre has built his reputation on the two key operations that catapulted him to the top PNP post.

The distinctions given him, however, were likened to a house of cards that collapsed after a series of indiscretions.