By Beting Laygo Dolor, Editor

MANILA –  Ordinarily, the on-the-spot firing of the chief of the Philippine National Police (PNP) could only be interpreted to mean that he had committed a very serious offense.

But the sudden and unexpected relief of the popular General Nicolas Torre lll as announced by Malacanang first thing in the morning on Tuesday, August 26 (Manila time) turned into a comedy of errors as the day progressed.

Local Government Secretary Jonvic Remulla said the President “still believes” in Torre, and may soon get a new post in the administration.

Remulla said Torre “did not violate any laws. He has not been charged with any violations, he has not been charged administratively or criminally.”

It was simply a choice of the President “to take a new direction” for the PNP, he said.

The order relieving Torre of command did not come from Marcos, but from Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin.

Early reports said Torre may be appointed head of the National Bureau of Investigation, or the Philippine office of Interpol. By late afternoon, word was that he would be asked to lead the Presidential Anti-Corruption Commission.

Marcos’s unwillingness to personally issue the relief order of Torre was interpreted by analysts and commentators as a sign of the president’s fear that his action would boomerang on him.

Others said it was a sign of the weak political leadership of Marcos.

Still others said Marcos may not have known of the forced exit of the PNP chief, with some of his Cabinet secretaries running rings around him. Malacanang was then forced to take corrective action to minimize the damage to Marcos’ reputation.

During his State of the Nation Address, Marcos had even singled out Torre as the people’s “new champion.” But shortly after assuming his post, Torre is said to have had policy differences with the National Police Commission, headed by Local Government chief Remulla.

Torre had become popular after he led the composite team that apprehended Pastor Apollo Quiboloy, who had gone into hiding for more than two weeks after he refused to attend his court hearings, while also snubbing Congressional calls to attend committee hearings.

Torre was also credited with arresting former President Rodrigo Duterte without incident at the behest of Interpol, which had been asked by the International Criminal Court to bring the former chief executive to The Hague. Duterte meekly followed Torre’s command to board the private plane that took him to the Netherlands.

More recently, Torre accepted the challenge of acting Davao City mayor Baste Duterte to a fistfight. The PNP chief showed up but the son of the ex-president gave multiple reasons for not facing the PNP chief in a boxing ring.

Torre was appointed PNP chief only last June 2. Having served for less than three months, he has had the shortest stint among all past chiefs of the national police.

As of press time, Torre has kept silent. It is not clear if he will accept any new post offered by the Marcos administration. One of his other options is to stay with the PNP in whatever capacity is given him, then retire as scheduled next year.