Politics in PNP?
MANILA, Philippines — With Gen. Rommel Marbil retiring as chief of the Philippine National Police in June, Criminal Investigation and Detection Group director Maj. Gen. Nicolas Torre III is not discounting the possibility that the illegal detention case leveled against him and nine other CIDG officers might be related to politics within the PNP.
“I was shocked because the incident came out in the open just now. Is it because General Marbil is set to retire?” Torre said. “I am not discounting the possibility that this is politics inside the organization.”
The CIDG chief stressed that the “he-said, she-said” between him and Rotchelle Calle could be attributed to the businesswoman’s support for former president Rodrigo Duterte.
Torre was the highest-ranking officer during Duterte’s arrest on March 11.
Calle filed a complaint against Torre for allegedly detaining her on Nov. 21 to 27, 2024 using a “photocopied” International Police Organization (Interpol) red notice, which stemmed from a fraud case filed by her former business partner, Abdulmalek Alshihhim, in the United Arab Emirates.
Torre said Calle sought the CIDG’s help in January to arrest Alshihhim.
“Her business partner defrauded her, so she filed a complaint and asked us to arrest him in Batangas. We caught him,” Torre told Ted Failon and DJ Cha-Cha over True FM yesterday.
Torre denied allegations that his men asked Calle for a “Christmas gift.”
He also said that he and his team were not able to attend the preliminary investigation hearings on April 21 and 28 at the Makati prosecutor’s office because they did not receive a notice.