Davao City 1st District Representative Paolo Duterte blasted former Philippine National Police (PNP) Chief Gen. Nicolas Torre III after Torre said in an interview that he was prepared to arrest Senator Bato dela Rosa if ordered.
In a sharp Facebook post on Wednesday, November 19, Duterte mocked Torre’s brief tenure as police chief.
“Before Mr. Torre fantasizes about ‘arresting’ anybody, he should first arrest the memory gap of the Filipino public — because almost no one remembers he was PNP Chief. And how could they?” he wrote.
He continued, “His term was so short, it can be measured in hours rather than achievements.”
Duterte went further, adding, “Torre’s stint was not a leadership term — it was an intermission, a placeholder, a bookmark in a chapter that nobody read.”
The exchange came after Ombudsman Boying Remulla claimed that an arrest warrant had been issued by the International Criminal Court (ICC) against dela Rosa.
The statement was contradicted by his own brother, Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) Secretary Jonvic Remulla, who clarified: “As per the center for transnational crimes, there has been no red notice issued by the Interpol as of 10 minutes ago.”
The Department of Justice (DOJ) likewise confirmed that it had not received any notice from either Interpol or the ICC regarding dela Rosa.