President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. has ordered the reorganization of the National Security Council (NSC), removing the Vice President and former Philippine presidents from its roster.

The three-page Executive Order (EO) 81, signed by Marcos on 30 December, stated the “need to further guarantee that the NSC remains a resilient national security institution, capable of adapting to evolving challenges and opportunities both domestically and internationally.”

In the EO, the President stressed the need to ensure that NSC members “uphold and protect the national security and sovereignty, thereby fostering an environment conducive to effective governance and stability.”

The NSC’s present composition has the President as chairperson and 26 officials of various offices of the Executive and Legislative branches as members.

In signing EO 81, Marcos approved the removal from the NSC of Vice President Sara Duterte and her father, former President Rodrigo Duterte, along with former Philippine presidents Joseph Estrada and Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.

The NSC will now comprise the President as chairperson, the Senate President, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, the Senate President Pro-Tempore; three deputy speakers to be designated by the Speaker, the majority floor leaders of the Senate and of the House, the minority floor leaders of the Senate and of the House, with the chairpersons of the Senate committees on foreign relations, on national defense and security, peace, unification and reconciliation, and on public order and dangerous drugs as members.

The chairpersons of House committees on foreign affairs, on national defense and security, and on public order and safety; the Executive Secretary, the National Security Adviser; the secretaries of foreign affairs, of justice, of national defense, of the interior and local government, and of labor and employment; the Chief Presidential Legal Counsel, the head of the Presidential Legislative Liaison Office, and other government officials and private citizens appointed by the President will also be part of the council.

Meanwhile, the secretary of the Presidential Communications Office (PCO) has been appointed the newest member of the NSC, replacing the defunct presidential spokesperson who was previously listed as a member.

EO 81 mandates the director-general of the National Intelligence Coordinating Agency, the chief of staff of the Armed Forces of the Philippines, the chief of the Philippine National Police, and the director of the National Bureau of Investigation to attend council meetings “as may be necessary to advise and assist in its deliberations” on national threats.

The governor of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas may also be invited to participate in the NSC.

VP not considered relevant

Marcos removed the Vice President from the NSC’s executive committee, which will now be composed of the President as chairperson, with the members the Executive Secretary, the Senate President or his representative, the Speaker of the House or his representative, the National Security Adviser, the secretaries of foreign affairs, of justice, of national defense, and of the Interior and local government, and other members and advisers designated by the President.

“All orders, rules and regulations, and other issuances or parts thereof which are inconsistent with the provisions of this order are hereby repealed or modified accordingly,” the executive order read.

EO 81, which was made public on Friday, takes effect immediately.

In a Viber message to reporters, Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin defended Marcos’ decision to reorganize the NSC, saying that EO 81 was issued to streamline the council membership.

“At the moment, the VP is not considered relevant to the responsibilities of membership in the NSC,” Bersamin said.

“Nonetheless, when the need arises, the EO reserves to the President the power to add members or advisers,” he added.

Shaking politics

To recall, Vice President Duterte had lashed out at National Security Adviser Eduardo Año over his statement that all threats to the President are considered “serious.”

“Any and all threats against the life of the President shall be validated and considered a matter of national security,” Año said following Duterte’s online meltdown last November.

Año said Duterte’s rant against Marcos and his wife, First Lady Liza Araneta-Marcos, had shaken the country, labeling it a “serious concern.”

Año’s statement came after Duterte said she had instructed someone to kill Marcos, the First Lady and Speaker Martin Romualdez should she be killed.

Duterte promptly reacted to Año’s statement, saying that the NSC was “confined to the formulation of policies in furtherance of such pursuits.”

Citing her NSC membership under EO 115 signed on 24 December 1986, Duterte sought a copy of the notice of the meeting with proof of service, the list of attendees, photos of the meeting, and the notarized minutes of the meeting “where the council, whether present or past, resolved to consider the remarks by a Vice President against a President, maliciously taken out of logical context, as a national security concern.”

“I do not recall receiving a single notice of meeting since 30 June 2022. I request the NSA to please send to me the notarized minutes of all meetings conducted by the council from 30 June 2022, if any. I want to review what the council has accomplished so far, in terms of policies and recommendations for national security,” Duterte said.

She also demanded a written explanation from the NSC for not including her in the loop of various council meetings.

“Moreover, please submit within 24 hours an explanation in writing with legal basis why the VP is not a member of the NSC or why as a member I have not been invited to the meetings, whichever is applicable,” Duterte said as she demanded “transparency and accountability” from the council personnel.

PCO Secretary Cesar Chavez emphasized there was no NSC meeting that had been called under the Marcos administration.

Timely, coherent action

Meanwhile, Año said Marcos’ decision to reorganize the NSC was “premised on the need for timely and coherent action” to address current and emerging threats to national security.

He also approved of Marcos’ issuance of EO 8, noting that reconstituting the NSC was necessary to further enhance the formulation of policies affecting national security.

“The NSC is, first and foremost, an advisory body to the President, and its composition is always subject to the authority of the President,” he said.

“Hence, the purpose of the reorganization is to enhance the formulation of policies relating to national security so that actions and decisions thereon by the President will rest on sound advice and accurate information,” he added.

Año likewise cited the Administrative Code of 1987 that “vests” on the President the continuing authority to reorganize the administrative structure of the Office of the President — of which the NSC is a part.

The National Security Council serves as the primary advisory body for coordinating and integrating plans and policies related to national security.

The NSC comprises two distinct bodies — the Council Proper and the National Security Council Secretariat.

The Council Proper is a collective body led by the President. It is comprised of relevant Cabinet and congressional officials, along with other government representatives and private individuals whom the President may invite.

The NSC was established during the Quirino administration under EO 330 issued on 1 July 1950, and was later reorganized under EO 115, series of 1986.

The NSC Secretariat is a permanent body that provides technical assistance to the Council Proper. It is led by the Director general/National Security Adviser.