Lacson: Torre 'acted beyond his authority'

MANILA, Philippines — Philippine National Police (PNP) chief, Gen. Nicolas Torre III "acted beyond his authority" when he relieved his second-in-command, Lt. Gen. Jose Melencio Nartatez Jr., despite an order from authorities to retain him., Sen. Panfilo Lacson said on Tuesday. President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. earlier in the day relieved Torre from his post and appointed Nartatez to take over as officer-in-charge. In a statement after, Lacson, a former PNP chief under the administration of former president Joseph Estrada, said the designation and relief of the members of the PNP Command Group such as the deputy for administration, deputy for operations, and chief, directorial staff "should be cleared with the President or at least the ex-officio Chairman of the National Police Commission (Napolcom), and the Secretary of Interior and Local Government."

Senate President Pro Tempore Jinggoy Estrada and Sen. Erwin Tulfo agreed with Lacson. "Like any other appointee in the Executive branch, he serves at the pleasure of the President, which means he can be removed at any time," Estrada said in a statement.

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Torre came under fire after he rswitched the positions of Nartatez and Lt. Gen. Bernard Banac who headed the Area Police Command-Western Mindanao. Banac and Nartatez switched posts on Aug. 6 upon Torre's order. He did not disclose the reason for the reassignments. The Napolcom, through Resolution 2025-0531 dated Aug. 14, ordered Torre to bring back Nartatez as deputy chief for administration and return Banac to Western Mindanao. The Napolcom directive allegedly resulted in conflicts and the release of statements of support for Torre.

Torre himself confirmed the "conflicts" within the the organization but expressed confidence that they would be internally resolved soon. Torre refused to answer directly if his order would prevail, but during Monday's flag-raising ceremony at Camp Crame in Quezon City, he recognized Banac as the PNP's deputy chief for administration, in conflict with the Napolcom order.