Marcos appoints Nicolas Torre III as MMDA general manager

President Ferdinand ''Bongbong'' Marcos Jr. has appointed former Philippine National Police chief Nicolas Torre III as general manager of the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority.

This was confirmed by Palace Press Officer Undersecretary Atty. Claire Castro. 

Torre replaced Procopio Lipana. The Presidential Communications Office has not responded yet on why Lipana was replaced.

Interior Secretary Jonvic Remulla said it would be a mandatory retirement for Torre ''if he chooses another job.''

To recall, Torre was relieved from his post as PNP chief on August 25. He was replaced by Police Lieutenant General Jose Melencio Nartatez Jr.

Remulla had said one of the reasons Torre was relieved as PNP chief was his defiance to an order of the National Police Commission (NAPOLCOM) on the reassignment of key officials.

In September, Marcos said Torre was removed as PNP chief after the top cop ''did not agree with the directives that were coming out of NAPOLCOM."

The President also guaranteed that there was no loss of confidence in Torre.

Torre, who had served as the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) chief, led the arrest of former president Rodrigo Duterte and his transport to the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague, Netherlands on March 11 to face charges of crimes against humanity case in connection with his administration’s war on drugs.

As Police Regional Office 11 (PRO 11) chief, Torre led the capture of Kingdom of Jesus Christ founder Apollo Quiboloy on September 8, 2024 in Davao City over charges of human trafficking and sexual exploitation of minors. — RSJ, GMA Integrated News