A Facebook post of Nicolas Torre III, general manager of the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA), drew attention for its perceived reference to Sen. Bato dela Rosa.
The former top cop posted photos of his interaction with someone he knew during a meeting on Wednesday, May 13, joking about arresting him.
“Huli ka! Ay, Class ‘79 pala…” Torre captioned his post.
The photos featured him and Ferdinand Juan, a bald Naval officer reservist and a senior consultant in disaster risk reduction and resilience.
“Ayan, sir, complied na ako sa 1,000 squat thrusts! Hahaha!” Juan was quoted by Torre as saying.
The encounter happened during the general membership meeting of the Management Association of the Philippines at Shangri-la, The Fort in Taguig City.
Torre’s post has garnered 25,000 laughing reactions and 1,300 comments, with some Filipinos picking up on his perceived reference to the senator.
“Ikaw na humuli, General Torre, para sure talaga,” a Facebook user wrote.
“Kung PNP chief pa rin si sir, within 24 hours, nasa The Hague na ‘yung kalbo. Hahaha,” another commented.
“Na-miss ni Gen Torre,” a different Pinoy wrote with a laughing emoji.
“Hahaha, kala ko si Stone nahuli mo, sir,” another commented. “Stone” is the English translation of the senator’s nickname, Bato.
Torre was perceived to be referring to the possible arrest of Dela Rosa, who is facing an arrest warrant issued by the International Criminal Court (ICC) over his alleged involvement in the Duterte administration’s “War on Drugs” campaign.
The ICC said the senator has an alleged criminal responsibility as an “indirect co-perpetrator” in the killings linked to the bloody campaign, claiming that his involvement amounts to the “crime against humanity of murder” allegedly committed between July 2016 and April 2018.
Dela Rosa was the chief of the Philippine National Police during the height of the implementation of former president Rodrigo Duterte‘s “War on Drugs” initiative.
He is currently under protective custody of the Senate after resurfacing on May 11 following a six month absence, which began when Ombudsman Boying Remulla claimed that the ICC had issued an arrest warrant against Dela Rosa.
Meanwhile, Torre played a key role in the arrest and transfer of Duterte to The Hague, Netherlands, in March 2025.
At the time, he was chief of the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) of the PNP and oversaw the police operations that led to Duterte’s arrest.
Torre previously said he had no personal motive in carrying out the operation, adding that he was simply performing his duties as a police officer.
The ICC had coordinated with the International Criminal Police Organization, or Interpol, for the execution of the arrest warrant against Duterte.
Reacting to the potential arrest of Dela Rosa, Torre said the enforcement of an ICC warrant against the senator should be treated as a law enforcement operation rather than an act of political retaliation.
“The implementation of a warrant is an operation of law. It is not about revenge or anything. It is about law enforcement,” he said in an interview on May 13.
“The first thing we will look at is whether the warrant is valid, whether it can be enforced, and whether the agency tasked with enforcing it has the capability or personality to enforce it,” Torre added.
