Senator-elect Panfilo “Ping” Lacson said on Friday, May 30, that P/Maj. Gen. Nicolas Torre III deserves his appointment as the new chief of the Philippine National Police (PNP).
Lacson, himself a former PNP chief, said he knew Torre to be a “decisive,” “firm” and “mission-oriented” policeman.
“From what I have heard and observed about him, he’s a decisive, firm and mission-oriented official, so he deserves to be appointed as chief of the PNP,” Lacson said in Filipino in a televised interview.
Torre was known for overseeing several high-profile cases under the Marcos administration, including the arrest of alleged sex offender Apollo Quiboloy and, more recently, the arrest of former president Rodrigo Duterte.
He headed the PNP Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG).
He will formally assume his post during a turnover of command on June 2, replacing P/Gen. Rommel Marbil who is due to retire on June 7.
Meanwhile, Lacson reiterated his call for the Marcos administration to hasten the reorganization of the Cabinet noting some sectors are floating names and spreading “white papers” or derogatory information against some Cabinet members.
One white paper, he said, is targeting Department of National Defense (DND) Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr.
Nevertheless, President Marcos has turned down Teodoro’s courtesy resignation.
