Former Philippine National Police (PNP) chief Police General Nicolas Torre III is deemed resigned from the police force following his oath-taking as the new general manager of the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) on Friday.

Executive Secretary Ralph G. Recto administered Torre’s oath of office on 26 December 2025, formally installing him as head of the MMDA.

National Police Commission (Napolcom) commissioner and executive officer Rafael Calinisan said Torre’s acceptance of the MMDA post automatically ended his status as an active police officer.

“With the appointment of Torre to the MMDA, and his acceptance of the post, he has ipso facto resigned from the police force,” Calinisan said in a statement.

Calinisan welcomed Torre’s assumption of the civilian post, saying it finally clarifies the leadership situation within the PNP. 

He noted that the development allows Police Lieutenant General Jose Melencio Nartatez Jr. to receive his “well-deserved four-star rank,” which comes with his original appointment as PNP chief.

Before Torre’s acceptance of the MMDA position, Nartatez had been serving only in an acting capacity.

“This provides much-needed clarity in the PNP,” Calinisan said.

Short-lived PNP tenure

Torre’s mandatory retirement was still set for 11 March 2027. 

However, his tenure as PNP chief lasted only about three months, from 29 May to 26 August. He was relieved from the post after defying a Napolcom order reversing his reassignment of Nartatez and Lt. Gen. Bernard Banac. Nartatez eventually replaced Torre as PNP chief.

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. earlier acknowledged tensions between Torre and Napolcom, saying the former police chief did not agree with the commission’s decisions.

“He really doesn’t get along with Napolcom,” Marcos said in a podcast interview last September. “There’s a chain of command. That’s the civilian authority. You can’t just refuse that.”

High-profile operations

Despite his brief term as PNP chief, Torre figured prominently in several high-profile law enforcement operations.

As head of the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group, Torre led the arrest of former President Rodrigo Duterte, who was flown to The Hague on 11 March to face proceedings before the International Criminal Court over alleged crimes against humanity linked to the government’s anti-drug campaign.

Earlier, while serving as regional police director in Davao, Torre also led the operation that resulted in the arrest of televangelist Apollo Quiboloy following a 16-day standoff at the Kingdom of Jesus Christ compound. Quiboloy faces charges including sexual abuse of minors and qualified trafficking, allegations his camp has denied.

Torre now transitions fully into civilian service as MMDA general manager, tasked with overseeing traffic management, flood control, and metropolitan-wide coordination across Metro Manila.