Former NBI exec bucks Torre's PNP 'retirement'

A former regional director of the National Bureau of Investigation has questioned claims that former Philippine National Police chief Gen. Nicolas Torre III underwent mandatory retirement, saying his appointment to the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) was merely a case of “secondment.”

In a Facebook post, former NBI–National Capital Region director Ricardo Diaz said the secondment of PNP officers to other government agencies is a normal and long-established practice in government service.

“For the education of Jonvic and (Palace Press Officer) Claire Castro, ‘secondment’ is a temporary detail of personnel from the parent agency to a host agency for a specific project, specialized task, or development opportunity. The seconded officer continues to remain on the payroll of the parent agency and only receives an allowance from the host agency,” Diaz said.

Diaz, a lawyer, was reacting to remarks by Interior Secretary Jonvic Remulla that Torre’s assumption as MMDA general manager constituted a “mandatory retirement.”

The former NBI director said he knew of several high-ranking officers who were seconded to other agencies without losing their employment status with the PNP or the NBI. Instead, he said, these officers continued to receive their regular salaries from their parent agencies while getting honoraria from their host agencies.

Diaz said this could mean that Torre’s appointment as MMDA general manager may be considered a secondment, allowing him to remain on the PNP payroll as a four-star general.

In a 2024 memorandum, the Civil Service Commission (CSC) defined secondment as the movement of an official from one department or agency to another organization or body recognized by the Philippine government.

The CSC noted that the period of secondment “shall not affect the continuity of the employment of the Secondee with the Parent Agency” and is considered a secondment leave from the parent agency.

It also said the memorandum of agreement (MOA) should specify the secondee’s salaries, benefits, and the duration of the secondment.

However, Diaz’s pronouncement was rejected by PNP spokesperson Brig. Gen. Randulf Tuaño, who maintained that Torre had already retired from service.

“No, [it is] not a secondment. He is retired effective December 26, 2025,” Tuaño said in a message to GMA News Online.

Earlier, Torre said he was not the first police officer to serve in other government agencies.

“Hindi naman first time ‘yan na ang isang pulis ay nagtrabaho sa ibang agencies. Marami. At ‘yun lang, may mga active nga na police officers na kakabalik lang sa PNP—high-ranking police officers na 10 years nag-stay sa BI, sa Bureau of Immigration,” he said.

(That’s not the first time that a police officer has worked in other agencies. There have been many. There are active police officers who have just returned to the PNP—high-ranking officers who stayed at the Bureau of Immigration for 10 years.)

Torre also denied that he had retired, saying he had not signed any application for retirement.

Asked about Torre’s statement that he was not yet retired, Tuaño said: “That was settled already.”

Torre said he was awaiting instructions from President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. before making any plans related to his retirement.—MCG, GMA Integrated News