PRESIDENT Ferdinand Marcos Jr. ordered the reorganization of National Security Council (NSC), removing Vice President Sara Duterte as well as former presidents as members of the council.
Under Executive Order (EO) 81 he signed on Dec. 30, Marcos stressed the need to revamp the NSC to ensure that it is capable of handling “evolving” security and sovereignty issues.
“There is a 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, and to ensure that its council members uphold and protect national security and sovereignty, thereby fostering an environment conducive to effective governance and stability,” the president said in his order.
Vice President Sara Duterte. PHOTOS BY JOHN ORVEN VERDOTE
The council is composed of the president as chairperson and 26 officials from various offices of the executive and legislative branches as members.
Under the new EO, the president will remain as chairman, with the Senate president, House speaker, Senate president pro tempore, three deputy speakers designated by the speaker, Senate Majority and Minority Floor leaders, and House Majority and Minority Floor leaders as members.
Also sitting in the council are the chairmen of the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, Senate Committee on National Defense and Security, Peace, Unification and Reconciliation, Senate Committee on Public Order and Dangerous Drugs, House Committee on Foreign Affairs, House Committee on National Defense and Security, and House Committee on Public Order and Safety.
Completing its membership are the executive secretary, national security adviser, secretaries of Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA), Department of Justice (DOJ), Department of National Defense (DND), Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG), Department of Labor and Employment, and Presidential Communications Office, Chief Presidential Legal Counsel, Presidential Legislative Liaison Office head, and other government officials and private citizens appointed by the president.
The director general of the National Intelligence Coordinating Agency, the chief of staff of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), the chief of the Philippine National Police (PNP), the director of the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI), and the governor of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) may be required to attend the council’s meetings to advise and assist in its deliberations.
EO 81 also removed the vice president from the NSC’s executive committee.
The executive committee will now be composed of the president, executive secretary, Senate president, speaker, national security adviser, and secretaries of DFA, DOJ, DND and DILG.
EO 81, which was made public on Friday, takes effect immediately.
The NSC was originally known as the Council of National Defense. It became the NSC through EO 115 issued on Dec. 24, 1986.
It acts as the principal advisory body for plans and policies relating to national security.
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