Torre declared winner as Baste Duterte a no-show in charity event

Philippine National Police chief Police General Nicolas Torre III was declared as the winner of the match supposedly against acting Davao City mayor Sebastian "Baste" Duterte with the latter not showing up in the “Boxing for a Cause: Laban Para sa Nasalanta” event at the Rizal Memorial Coliseum on Sunday.

Moments after Torre entered the ring, ten counts were made to determine if Duterte will show up.

However, no Duterte appeared afterwards.

PNP Chief General Nicolas Torre III was declared the winner of the main event as Davao City acting mayor Baste Duterte did not show up after 10 counts @gmanews pic.twitter.com/X6k9AThQ6h

— JK Carandang (@jk_carandang) July 27, 2025

Hundreds flocked to the Rizal Memorial Coliseum to watch the said event.

According to Torre, the event pushed through as help should immediately be given to those affected by the recent floods in the metro caused by the enhanced Southwest Monsoon or Habagat.

The PNP chief also said more than P300,000 was raised from the event on top of around P16 million from donations.

Three out of the five scheduled undercard matches were also held prior to the main event.

Glen Borja won against Christian Tulayao, while Abdul Sherif Dimas defeated Daniel Baltazar in three-round matches with two minutes per round. Although it was not publicly announced, the scores revealed that Daryl Sobretodo won against Niño Basco.

Torre also later announced a "fake news alert" over a post claiming that police officers were forced to attend the boxing match.

"Hindi po totoo na inobliga natin ang mga pulis na umatend sa charity boxing match. Hindi po kailangan kasi kinulang na nga kami ng ticket na maibenta di ba?" he said on Facebook.

(It's not true that we made police officers attend the charity boxing match. That wouldn't even be necessary because we ran out of tickets to sell, didn't we?)

On Sunday last week, Duterte challenged Torre to a fistfight in a vlog uploaded on YouTube.

Torre accepted the challenge.

Duterte however gave a condition on Thursday for the bout to push through. He said President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. should direct all officials to undergo a hair follicle drug test. 

Torre however refused to respond to the condition set by Duterte regarding their bout, according to PNP spokesperson Police Brigadier General Jean Fajardo in an interview on Saturday.

The National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) then said it has received information that Duterte has flown to Singapore. According to the NBI, Duterte departed from Davao International Airport for Singapore on Friday morning.

Torre meanwhile jogged at Camp Crame’s oval in Quezon City on Friday morning in preparation for a charity boxing match.

Davao City Representative Paolo “Pulong” Duterte has called on Torre to sign a document absolving his brother of any liability if the boxing match pushes through.

Baste: Hindi kita hinamon

Acting Davao City Mayor Sebastian Duterte denied challenging Torre to a fistfight, then issued the same dare for another day.

In his Basta Dabawenyo posted Saturday evening, July 26, Duterte said he did not challenge Torre to a fistfight, only that he would win if they fought.

“’Yun nga, kung lalaki ka talaga, suntukan tayo. Hindi naman kita hinamon. Sinabi ko talaga, kung magsuntukan tayo, mabubugbog kita. Hindi kita hinamon. Tanga. You’re just as stupid as the journalist that asked you,” he said.

(“That’s right, if you’re really a man, let’s fight. I didn’t challenge you. What I really said was, if we ever fought, I’ll beat you up. I didn’t challenge you. Stupid.),” he said.

Duterte in a vlog posted last Sunday, July 20, mentioned Torre and said: “Kasi matapang ka lang naman you have the position. Pero kung suntukan tayo, alam kong makaya kita. But then you're a coward,” prompting Sunday’s scheduled match.

(You’re brave because you have the position but if we fight, I know I can handle you. But then you’re a coward.)

Torre responded to this by saying it could be in the form of a charity boxing match, and the proceeds would be for those affected by the recent storms. It was scheduled on Sunday morning, but Duterte did not show up, leading to Torre being declared the winner.

At the venue in Manila, hundreds were in attendance, with three undercard matches held prior to the main event.

Duterte in his latest vlog said he was not available on Sunday as it was a “family day,” but said he would be available on another day, and that it would be better for Torre to reschedule, as he could take the time to prepare.

He also criticized Sunday’s match for charity, and he reiterated his condition that all elected officials should undergo a hair follicle drug test before the match.

“If you really just want a fight, why do you need charity? Why do you need the, do you need to use what’s happening right now with the floods in Metro Manila?” he said.

To recall, Torre led the arrest of former President Rodrigo Duterte — the acting mayor’s father — in March, as Philippine authorities assisted Interpol in serving a warrant from the International Criminal Court (ICC) for crimes against humanity in connection with his drug war.  — with a report from Jon Viktor Cabuenas KG/RF/BM, GMA Integrated News