President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr. ordered the re-organization of the National Security Council (NSC) in his first official act for 2025, a move that will see the removal from the critical body of his two staunchest critics, Vice-president Sara Duterte-Carpio and her father, former president Rodrigo Duterte.
The issuance of Executive Order 81 dated January 3, 2025 immediately drew a sharp reaction from Duterte’s former legal counsel, Salvador Panelo, who called it “ill-advised presidential move.”
“It smacks of dirty politics. Another brazen measure to diminish the political star power of VP Sara,” Panelo said in a statement.
Malacañang, however, was not impressed with Panelo’s tirades with Executive Sec. Lucas Bersamin saying the former Duterte legal adviser has no moral authority to speak on the issue.
“(I’ve read) something that reminded me that Panelo, during his time as presidential adviser, advocated the exclusion of then vice-president Leni Robredo (from the Cabinet),” he said.
Bersamin said at the moment, Vice-president Duterte-Carpio is ”not considered relevant to the responsibilities of membership in the NSC.” He clarified, however, that the President has the power to add members to the composition of the NSC “as needed.”
A former Supreme Court chief justice, Bersamin stressed the President’s absolute authority to reorganize government offices. He underscored that it is within the President’s responsibility to ensure that “whoever advises him is within his fullest trust and confidence.”
Previous presidents similarly reorganized their security councils.
In the recomposition of NSC under EO 81, the vice-president and all previous living presidents were no longer found in the list of council members. That means that aside from Duterte-Carpio and her father, also taken out from the NSC were former presidents Joseph Estrada and Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.
Panelo said the removal of Estrada and Arroyo was meant to “deodorize the elimination of Duterte-Carpio as member… to make it appear that she is not being targeted.“
On top of the NSC’s new members list after the President were the Senate President; Speaker of the House of Representatives; Senate President Pro-Tempore; Three Deputy Speakers to be designated by the Speaker; Majority Floor Leader of the Senate; Majority Floor Leader of the House; Minority Floor Leader of the Senate; Minority Floor Leader of the House; Chairpersons of the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, Senate Committee on National Defense and Security, Peace, Unification and Reconciliation, and Senate Committee on Public Order and Dangerous Drugs, as members.
Also part of the council will be the Chairpersons of House Committee on Foreign Affairs, House Committee on National Defense and Security, House Committee on Public Order and Safety; Executive Secretary; National Security Adviser; Secretaries of Department of Foreign Affairs, Department of Justice, Department of National Defense, Department of the Interior and Local Government, Department of Labor and Employment, Presidential Communications Office; Chief Presidential Legal Counsel; Head of the Presidential Legislative Liaison Office; and other government officials and private citizens appointed by the President.
The Director-General of the National Intelligence Coordinating Agency (NICA), the Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), the Chief of the Philippine National Police (PNP), and the Director of the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) shall attend the meetings of the council as may be necessary to advise and assist in its deliberations.
Last November, national security adviser Eduardo Año said the threat of Vice-president Duterte-Carpio against President Marcos was considered a “national security concern.”
Secretary Año was referring to the broadcast statement of the Vice-president where she disclosed that in the event that she gets murdered, she already left an instruction to have the President, First Lady Liza Marcos and House Speaker Martin Romualdez killed as well.
