Acting Philippine National Police (PNP) Chief Lt. Gen. Jose Melencio Nartatez Jr. on Monday denied the police force is implementing “arrest quotas,” distancing himself from a controversial policy reportedly introduced by his predecessor, Gen. Nicolas Torre III.

“There’s no such thing as quota arrests (under my watch),” Nartatez told reporters in a media briefing at Camp Crame in Quezon City.

He stressed that police operations are driven by intelligence information. “Of course, our operations, our directives are based on data and records,” he said.

“Intelligence information, investigation information, those are the basis of our operations,” he added.

His statement was in response to the claim of a detainee rights advocacy group which earlier urged Nartatez to “rescind” Torre’s directive that used arrest numbers as a metric for police promotions.

The group lamented that “arrest quotas only worsen impunity and jail congestion without truly addressing crime.”

Nartatez emphasized that while arresting wanted persons remains a core function of police work, it must be guided by reliable data and operational intelligence and not numerical targets.

“For example, [at] the DIDM (Directorate for Investigation and Detective Management), we have data on the number of wanted persons. So how can we assign quotas, like a hundred or so? What we are doing is tracking down those who are actually wanted and arresting them,” he explained.

The acting PNP chief also addressed the ongoing anti-drug campaign, saying he would continue the “enhanced management of police operations” against illegal drugs, while remaining open to revisiting and revising operational plans as needed.

Nartatez made the statements following his first command conference last Friday attended by 18 regional directors and other senior police officials.

He took over as acting PNP chief on 26 August after the abrupt departure of Torre.

Meanwhile, the Napolcom confirmed key PNP appointments, including that of Nartatez as PNP OIC, after an en banc meeting.

The Napolcom explained the designation was necessary because former PNP chief Nicolas D. Torre III, although relieved from his post, continued to hold the rank of Police General — a rank that by law can only be vested in one officer at a time.

Nartatez, as OIC, is fully vested with legal authority to exercise and discharge all powers, prerogatives, and responsibilities of the PNP chief, Napolcom said.

This includes the functions expressly provided under Section 26 of Republic Act 6975, as amended, also known as the Department of the Interior and Local Government Act of 1990.