* VP Sara, ex-Presidents out
DAVAO CITY – Pres. Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has removed Vice President Sara Z. Duterte, as well as past presidents of the Philippines from the National Security Council (NSC) through a new Executive Order reorganizing the main advisory body for plans and policy related to national security.
Executive Order No. 81 s. 2024 issued on December 30 but made public on January 3, reconstituted the advisory body’s composition, citing that there is a need to guarantee further that the NSC remains a resilient national security institution, capable of adapting to evolving challenges and opportunities both domestically and internationally.
Aside from the removal of the Vice President and past presidents as members of the council, EO 81 also states that three deputy speakers to be designated by the Speaker will be members of the NSC, as opposed to “Deputy Speakers for Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao” under the last reorganization of the council in 2001, during the Arroyo administration.
The removal drew flak from netizens, while other former government officials described it as a political attack against the Dutertes.
In a statement, former chief presidential legal counsel and Palace spokesperson Salvador Panelo hits Marcos for the ‘ill-advised’ decision of removing VP Sara from NSC.
“The removal of VP Sara and Former President Rodrigo Roa Duterte (FPRRD) as members of the National Security Council is an ill-advised presidential move. It smacks of dirty politics. Another brazen measure to diminish the political star power of VP Sara and FPRRD,” he added.
Panelo said that the removal of former presidents Arroyo and Estrada aims to deodorize the elimination of VP Sara and FPRRD as members of the NSC — to make it appear that the two are not being targeted.
On the other hand, National Security Adviser (NSA) Eduardo Año described EO 81 as a “necessary move to enhance further the formulation of policies affecting national security.”
Año, who is also NSC Director General, said the Administrative Code of 1987 vests the Chief Executive with the continuing authority to reorganize the administrative structure of the Office of the President which the agency is a part of.
“Moreover, Section 17, Article VII of the Constitution vests in the President the power of control over all executive departments, bureaus and offices,” he added.
Año also pointed out that previous Chief Executives have reorganized the composition of the NSC to meet the President’s requirements and changing conditions. ###
