MANILA – Former presidential spokesperson Salvador Panelo slammed President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr.’s decision to remove Vice President Sara Duterte-Carpio and former presidents in the National Security Council (NSC).
According to Panelo, the Chief Executive’s decision to reorganize the NSC, through the Executive Order (EO) No. 81 released on Friday afternoon, was an “ill-advised presidential move.”
Aside from Duterte-Carpio, also removed from the reorganized NSC are former presidents who are still alive, namely Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and Joseph Ejercito “Erap” Estrada.
“It smacks of dirty politics. Another brazen measure to diminish the political star power of VP Sara,” Panelo said in a statement. “This move was meant to deodorize the elimination of VP Sara as member — to make it appear that she is not being targeted.”
In issuing EO 81, the President said there is a need to further guarantee that NSC remains a resilient national security institution, capable of adapting to evolving challenges and opportunities both here and abroad, and to ensure that NSC members “uphold and protect national security and sovereignty, thereby fostering an environment conducive to effective governance and stability.”
Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin, for his part, stated that the Vice President is ”not considered relevant to the responsibilities of membership in the NSC,” and that the President has the power to add members to the composition of the NSC as needed.
The NSC is the government body formed to advise the President “on matters of national defense and shall make recommendations on such other subjects as the President may from time to time submit for study and consideration.”
When it was formed by then-President Elpidio Quirino on July 1, 1950, with his Executive Order No. 330, the NSC was composed of the following officials: President, Vice President, President of the Senate, Speaker of the House of Representatives, Head of each Executive Department, Chairman of the Committee on the Army, Navy, and Military Pensions of the Senate, Chairman of the National Defense Committee of the House of Representatives, Commanding General of the Armed Forces of the Philippines, and Chairman of the Philippine Veterans Board.
The composition of the NSC has since gone through several changes over the years./PN
