Philippine National Police (PNP) Chief Gen. Nicolas Torre III has firmly shut the door on the possibility of another boxing match with acting Davao City Mayor Baste Duterte, following the latter’s no-show at their scheduled charity bout on Sunday.
Duterte skipped the event held at the Rizal Memorial Coliseum in Manila, prompting officials to declare Torre the winner by default. The charity match was intended to raise funds for those affected by the southwest monsoon and recent typhoons.
Speaking to reporters, Torre expressed disappointment over Duterte’s absence and questioned the value of engaging further. “I have a lot of work and this is not worth responding to,” he said, when asked if he would still entertain a future challenge from the mayor.
“We exerted a lot of effort in this event. I don’t think he is worth responding to at this point. We should just let him be in his own world,” the PNP chief added.
Torre did not mince words as he addressed what he saw as a blow to Duterte’s credibility: “Fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice, shame on me. I wonder what kind of supporters he has, knowing he doesn’t stand by his word. We will not align ourselves with those he deceives.”
Despite Duterte’s earlier announcement of backing out, Torre said the PNP pushed through with the event, underscoring the urgent need to raise relief funds.
“Well, as policemen, we are also frontliners and we see the ordeal that affected citizens face, that’s why when the [acting] mayor issued that statement, we saw it as an opportunity to raise funds outside the government resources,” he explained.
