Ex-PNP chief Torre named MMDA general manager

MANILA, Philippines — President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has appointed Police Gen. Nicolas Torre III as the new general manager of the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA), replacing Procopio Lipana.

Palace press officer Claire Castro confirmed Torre’s appointment, but Torre himself had yet to confirm it, given that he must retire from the Philippine National Police if he accepts that civilian position, according to Interior Secretary Jonvic Remulla.

Lipana, a retired police col., had served as MMDA general manager since his appointment to the agency in November 2022.

READ: Nicolas Torre relieved as PNP chief

Torre remains a police officer until his retirement on March 11, 2027.

He had previously served as Philippine National Police chief for a mere three months, from May 29 to Aug. 26. He was relieved after he defied an order by the National Police Commission (Napolcom) reversing his reassignment of lieutenant generals Jose Melencio Nartatez Jr. and Bernard Banac. Nartatez eventually replaced Torre as acting PNP chief.

Mr. Marcos himself revealed that detail during a podcast last September.

“It’s very simple. He really doesn’t get along with Napolcom. He clearly says “I don’t, … I don’t agree with what they do,” Mr. Marcos said in Filipino.

“I said, ‘No, there’s a chain of command. That’s the civilian authority. You can’t just refuse that.’ But he said, ‘I really can’t do it,’” the President recalled. INQ