'Birthday threat': Torre says Rody threatened him with legal troubles after retirement

Manila Bulletin

On his regular birthdays, the pizza and other food items that arrived at the Villamor Airbase in Pasay City would have been his treat to his family and friends, who, in return, would usually make good wishes for him.  But March 11, 2025 is no ordinary birthday for Police Maj. Gen. Nicolas Torre III. There were no family members, no friends and instead of good wishes, what he got was a threat from former president Rodrigo Duterte.    READ: https://mb.com.ph/2025/3/13/torre-says-rody-threatened-him-with-legal-troubles-after-retirement  Subscribe to the Manila Bulletin Online channel! - https://www.youtube.com/TheManilaBulletin  Visit our website at http://mb.com.ph Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/manilabulletin Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/manila_bulletin Instagram: https://instagram.com/manilabulletin Tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@manilabulletin  #ManilaBulletinOnline #ManilaBulletin #LatestNews

Transcript

00:00And President Duterte himself reminded me that I will retire and I will be accompanied by his children and his family after my retirement, even before my retirement.

00:18He encouraged me. But everything is okay. We have a thick skin and we can overcome it.

00:28Thank you very much, ma'am, and thank you very much for the support of our fellow countrymen.

00:32I just would like to reiterate that I don't find joy in doing these difficult jobs.

00:39First of all, I wasted my time preparing for my birthday.

00:43So, I just want to emphasize that I am not doing this for personal aggrandizement or anything else.

00:51We are doing this because this is our job, especially that I am the chief of the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group.

00:58This is something that has to be done for the judicial processes to start.

01:04This is a process that happened here in the ICC, an international body.

01:09If they are looking for a neutral international body to decide on complaints against the former PRRD,

01:19this is the ICC because the people here are foreigners.

01:23The judges here are foreigners.

01:25This has nothing to do with the Philippines. This has nothing to do with personality.

01:29This only has to do with the facts that will be given to them for them to decide.

01:34I would like to emphasize that these judges are foreigners.

01:38But the complainants here are Filipinos.

01:42These are the Filipinos during the PRRD who did not see any hope in the judicial processes in our country at that time.

01:49That is why they went to the ICC because they saw a sitting senator and a former justice secretary in prison.

01:56These are the people who did not have the ability to fight and did not see any hope, that is why they went to the ICC.

02:01I would also like to emphasize that these are not the people who can get the services of their lawyers.

02:08Their lawyers are also volunteers who only carry the belief for justice.

02:17So now, they brought to a neutral forum, the former president, I'm very sure, has the capacity to defend himself

02:26using the lawyers that he can afford, that he will get.

02:30I think this is fair.

02:32At the time of the arrest issued by the ICC, all of this will start if the former president Duterte is taken into custody

02:40and they are often endorsed so that they can take the jurisdiction and the judicial process can start

02:47so that justice can be dispensed for all.

02:50If he is innocent, he can be declared innocent quickly.

02:54If he is guilty, he can be given a sentence quickly so that justice can be dispensed.

03:02These are the people who are complaining, claiming that they were victims of violation of the law.

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