Torre refutes Sara Duterte’s remark that PNP is not maximizing tech

Philippine National Police Chief Gen. Nicolas Torre III. — File photo from a video grab by Niño Jesus Orbeta | Philippine Daily Inquirer

MANILA, Philippines — Philippine National Police (PNP) Chief Gen. Nicolas Torre III said Vice President Sara Duterte had already been shown that the agency was utilizing technology during her visit to the Quezon City Police District (QCPD), when he was its director.

Torre made the statement during a press conference at Camp Crame on Monday, following Duterte’s criticism that the PNP prioritizes police visibility over modern technology.

“I believe she still remembers the time when I invited her to be the guest of honor and speaker in one of our flag-raising ceremonies. She came and we showed her the integration of various monitoring instruments over the entirety of Quezon City,” he said.

“We have a drone. We have interconnected CCTVs. We have body cameras and many more. We have radios. The PNP gave everything,” he added.

Torre served as QCPD director from August 2022 to August 2023.

Duterte was the guest of honor at one of the QCPD’s flag-raising ceremonies held at Camp Karingal in March 2023.

In an earlier response to Duterte’s remarks, a statement read by Palace Press Officer Claire Castro last Friday quoted Torre as inviting the Vice President to visit the PNP headquarters.

While Torre said at Monday’s press conference that he did not recall issuing such a statement, he affirmed that the Vice President is welcome to visit Camp Crame to see how the agency uses technology.

READ: PNP welcomes Sara Duterte to visit HQ, see quick response ops

“I am grateful for the criticism of our Vice President [of] our operations. We always welcome those ideas,” Torre said.

“For that matter, we welcome the ideas of the other Filipinos whose goal is to speed up, clean up, and improve the delivery of police services,” he added.

READ: Sara Duterte laughs off Torre’s appointment as PNP chief

Before becoming PNP chief, Torre led the arrests of Kingdom of Jesus Christ founder and Duterte family ally Apollo Quiboloy in September 2024 and former President Rodrigo Duterte, the Vice President’s father, in March 2025.

When Torre was appointed to head the law enforcement agency, the vice president laughed off his promotion./mcm/abc