PNP's Torre says ready to take on tall order from President Marcos
PNP Chief, Police General Nicolas Torre III (Photo: Philippine National Police)
Philippine National Police (PNP) Chief, Police General Nicolas Torre III declared on Friday, June 20, his readiness to respond to the challenge laid out by President Marcos Jr. to intensify efforts in promoting peace and order nationwide.
“We will continue to strengthen our presence in the streets, reinforce our operations against high-value individuals, and ensure that no community is left vulnerable to crime or fear,” the national police chief said Friday, June 20.
Torre’s remarks came days after he met with the Chief Executive in Malacañan to discuss how to strengthen police visibility and safety.
During their meeting, Marcos lauded the swift, focused, and effective leadership of Torre following what the President said was a “noticeable” improvement in public safety two weeks since he assumed as the 31st PNP chief.
Shortly after taking command earlier this month, Torre launched the “Cops on the Beat” program, which aims to intensify foot patrol presence in communities nationwide.
The program immediately showed results as the number of focus crimes nationwide went down to 14,162 incidents from June 1 to 13, compared to 18,280 incidents during the same period last year. This was lower by 4,118 cases or 22.53 percent.
Focus crimes include murder, homicide, physical injury, rape, theft, robbery, carnapping of motor vehicles, and carnapping of motorcycles.
But Marcos said this wasn’t enough.
“It’s not enough that people are safe. They must feel safe. Even with good statistics, if people don’t feel the presence of the police, it’s not enough. Nic Torre is effective at that. Naramdaman mo kaagad (You can feel it already),” the President said in a recent podcast.
“That’s the only way to regain trust—when people know that no matter what happens, there will always be a police officer there. Just one call, and they’ll respond right away,” he added.
Marcos also ordered Torre to focus efforts on intercepting high-value drug shipments, dismantling major syndicates, and preventing the re-entry of illegal drugs into the streets.
Torre thanked the President for the trust and vowed to deliver on the vision of a truly safe and responsive police service.
“The President’s words serve both as a challenge and an inspiration. We in the PNP are committed to proving that safety is not only measured by data, but by how secure every Filipino feels in their daily life,” he said.