Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin on Tuesday lambasted former chief presidential legal counsel Salvador Panelo over questioning President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr.’s decision to reorganize the National Security Council (NSC), resulting in the removal of the vice president and past presidents from the list of members. 

In a press briefing in Malacañang, Bersamin said Panelo “has no moral authority” to question Marcos’ decision to issue an Executive Order 81, directing the reorganization of the NSC. 

Besamin mentioned how Panelo pushed for the exclusion of then vice president Leni Robredo from the cabinet members of former President Rodrigo Duterte. 

“Mayroon akong nabasa (I read) something that reminded me that Panelo, during his time as presidential adviser, advocated the exclusion of then Vice President Leni Robredo. So, he has no moral authority to question the decision of the President,” he said. 

Panelo said the removal of Vice President Duterte from the NSC was an “ill-advised presidential move” and “smacks of dirty politics." 

He also criticized the EO 81 as “another brazen measure to diminish the political star power of VP Sara.”

In response, Bersamin said it is within the President’s responsibility to ensure that “whoever advises him is within his fullest trust and confidence.” 

He further pressed the NSC to serve as an advisory body to the President in his capacity as Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces.

“The President’s absolute authority to reorganize government offices. There is nothing personal in the issuance of EO 81,” Bersamin said. 

In a text message to reporters, Panelo said Bersamin was “misinformed” about the issue with the former vice president during the previous admin. 

“I never advocated the exclusion of former VP Robredo in the National Security Council. She was in fact invited and attended the National Security Council meeting in July 2016 together with four living presidents (FVR, ERAP, PGMA, PBCA) at that time during the Duterte presidency,” Panelo said.

The three-page 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 signing EO 81, Marcos approved the removal of Vice President Sara Duterte and her father, former President Rodrigo Duterte, along with former Philippine chief executives Joseph “Erap” Estrada and Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, from the present list of NSC members. 

NSC will now be composed of the President as its chairperson; 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.

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, chief presidential legal counsel; 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 as the newest member of the NSC, replacing the now-defunct presidential spokesperson who was previously listed as a member. 

Executive Order 81 tasked 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) to attend the council meetings “as may be necessary to advise and assist in its deliberations” of national threats. 

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