Former President Rodrigo Duterte and Maj. Gen. Nicolas Torre III. Photos by Maria Tan and Jonathan Cellona, ABS-CBN News/File

MANILA — Maj. Gen. Nicolas Torre III, chief of the police Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG), on Tuesday said neither Malacañang nor the Senate instructed him to file complaints against Rodrigo Duterte, noting it was the responsibility of the police to pursue charges based on the former president's "killing" remarks.

Torre on Monday filed complaints for inciting sedition and unlawful utterances against Duterte as part of a "case buildup" before the Department of Justice.

PNP-CIDG chief files complaints vs. Duterte over 'kill senators' remark

"Ang mga kasong ifinile ko, ang finile ng CIDG sa DOJ ay hindi nangangailangan ng private complainant," Torre told reporters at Camp Crame.

(The cases I filed, the ones filed by the CIDG with the DOJ, do not require a private complainant.)

"Hindi namin kailangan ng Senado, hindi namin kailangan ng Malacañang dito para mai-file ang kaso," he added.

(We do not need the Senate, we do not need Malacañang here to file the case.)

However, Torre said Philippine National Police (PNP) chief Gen. Rommel Francisco Marbil gave his approval for the move.

“I informed the chief that I’d be filing the cases, and he said, ‘Go ahead and do your job.’ Trabaho ko ‘to eh, I’d be remiss if I didn’t file the case, and someone else filed it instead. Nakakahiya naman sa PNP ‘yon kapag inunahan tayo ng ibang tao na mag-file sa kitang-kita naman na violation ng isang taong palaging may nakatutok na camera,” he said.

(This is my job, I’d be remiss if I didn’t file the case, and someone else filed it instead. It would be embarrassing for the PNP if someone else filed the case first, especially when it's obvious that there was a violation by someone who is always in front of a camera.)

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Duterte, during a campaign rally last week, said that 15 senators should be killed in a bomb attack to create more vacant seats for his political party’s candidates to contest.

However, Duterte’s former presidential legal counsel, Salvador Panelo, argued that the former president was merely joking.

National Bureau of Investigation Director Jaime Santiago said Duterte's remark was just "part of political propaganda."

Torre declined to comment on Santiago’s statement, citing "professional courtesy." 

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