Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jnr has dismissed national police chief Nicolas Torre III after just 84 days in the role, following a dispute over authority within the force stemming from his defiance of the National Police Commission. The move ends the brief, high-profile tenure of a police chief who had led headline-grabbing arrests and become a public figure in his own right. Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin announced Torre’s removal in a brief two-paragraph order on Monday evening but gave no reason for the president’s decision. Interior Secretary Juanito Victor “Jonvic” Remulla later said the move was tied to a dispute involving the National Police Commission (Napolcom), the civilian oversight body under his department that sets policy and supervises the police. Remulla explained that Torre had ordered the reassignment of his deputy, Lieutenant General Jose Melencio Nartatez Jnr, to Mindanao in July and named a replacement. Napolcom countermanded the order, but Torre introduced his new deputy on August 5 regardless. Officials described this as a direct challenge to Napolcom’s authority and a chain-of-command issue that factored heavily into the president’s decision. “After careful perusal of the facts, the order came from the Office of the President and not Napolcom,” Remulla stressed. Rise and fall Torre’s dismissal marks a sharp reversal of fortune for the 56-year-old general. He rose to national prominence after leading the September 7 arrest of televangelist Apollo Quiboloy – a close ally of former President Rodrigo Duterte now facing charges of child sexual abuse and human trafficking – and the March 11 arrest of Duterte himself under an International Criminal Court warrant linked to his anti-drug campaign. Torre’s profile grew further after a charity boxing match on July 27, organised after Duterte’s son Sebastian challenged him to a fight, which Torre reframed as a disaster relief fundraiser. He won by default when Sebastian failed to appear. Marcos even referred to him as “our new champion” during his July 28 State of the Nation Address. The president made the remark jokingly, including Torre among the nation’s sporting heroes as a nod to his charity boxing bout, drawing laughter and applause. But his abrupt exit now makes Torre the shortest-serving Philippine National Police (PNP) chief in history. Reactions and political fault lines Remulla sought to play down speculation about unrest within the PNP despite a wave of online support for Torre from officers. “I think the police force is very professional,” he told reporters on Tuesday. “I think that 99.9 per cent of them will uphold their oath to maintain allegiance to the country and to the president.” He said he phoned Torre five times on Monday evening to inform him of the decision but “I think he was in a dinner. He was duly informed, properly informed of the decision”. Torre’s removal drew mixed reactions from Duterte allies. Senator Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa, a former PNP chief and close Duterte supporter, expressed sympathy despite criticising Torre’s arrests of Quiboloy and Duterte. “I am angry at him for what he did … but now I pity him. Because after he did everything and all that, he was given a position, then he was fired,” he said. Dela Rosa added that Torre’s situation highlighted the risks faced by police officials caught between shifting political priorities. “What if I was the one sitting there and I followed all orders … even if these were bordering on illegal acts, unconstitutional acts, questionable acts, I did everything, then afterwards I was simply relieved unceremoniously.” Opposition leader Vicente “Tito” Sotto III, by contrast, avoided criticism. “The president has or receives confidential information and issues not available to others,” he told This Week in Asia. “We cannot comment on what we do not know.” Torre’s leadership had earned praise from parts of the business community for faster police response times, heightened street visibility and reported reductions in crime. A prominent businessman, speaking on condition of anonymity, described Torre as “principled and has the guts to do the job”, but claimed his promotion was “payback” for his arrests of Duterte and Quiboloy, both rivals of Marcos. The influential Makati Business Club told This Week in Asia it “declined to comment at this time”. Divisions and succession Remulla insisted Torre had not broken any laws and faced no criminal charges, adding that the move was “simply a choice of the president to take a new direction for the PNP”. He also denied recommending Torre’s removal, stressing it was “solely the president’s decision” but said Marcos was “considering [Torre] for another post in government”. Former PNP chief and Senate minority leader Panfilo Lacson, however, said Torre had “acted beyond his authority” by unilaterally reassigning Nartatez, describing it as a breach of the chain of command. The top PNP post has now been temporarily filled by Nartatez, who previously served as police commander of Ilocos Norte – the Marcos family’s stronghold – and Cavite, the home province of Remulla. Like Marcos, Nartatez is an Ilocano.