Nartatez: Napolcom revamp order to go thru ‘normal process’
Philippine National Police Officer-in-Charge Lt. Gen. Jose Melencio Nartatez FILE PHOTO / NCRPO
MANILA, Philippines — Newly designated Philippine National Police (PNP) Officer-in-Charge Lt. Gen. Jose Melencio Nartatez said the National Police Commission’s (Napolcom) order to modify several recent appointments by his predecessor will follow the “normal procedure.”
Nartatez assumed office on Tuesday after President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. relieved Gen. Nicolas Torre III from his post following the Napolcom directive.
“About the reshuffle, about placement, we will go with the normal procedure. There’s a process. Especially with our former chief PNP giving the order, of course, there’s a procedure there,” Nartatez said in a chance interview with reporters in Camp Crame.
“If there are changes, like I said, officers come and go. We always serve at the trust and confidence of the appointing authority,” he added.
READ: Napolcom order on PNP revamp leads to Torre’s relief – DILG chief
In an order dated August 6, Torre assigned then-Deputy Chief for Administration Nartatez to be APC Western Mindanao chief, unseating him from the second-highest post in the PNP.
Napolcom then ordered Torre to reinstate Nartatez, maintaining in Resolution 2025-0531 dated August 14 that the PNP did not seek its approval for the designation of third-level officers.
The commission said, “Any designation, assignments, [and] reassignments without prior review and confirmation of the Napolcom shall be deemed ineffective. Non-compliance with the requirements herein prescribed shall subject accountable officers to administrative sanctions.”
READ: No order, obstacle, or trial can break PNP unity – Torre
The chiefs of all the PNP’s regional offices showed support for Torre in a manifesto of support last August 15, with the top cop later saying that “no order can break the police force’s unity.”
On August 18, Torre claimed the issue between the PNP and Napolcom had already been resolved “internally,” but Napolcom Executive Officer Rafael Calinisan said he was unaware of a dialogue between the two agencies./mcm
