By Ruth Abbey Gita-Carlos
MANILA – It is “malicious” to claim that the reorganization of the National Security Council (NSC) is a prelude to martial law, Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin said Tuesday.
This was after former presidential spokesperson Harry Roque alluded that President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. is eyeing a military rule, following the removal of the Vice President and the past Philippine presidents as members of the NSC.
“Kung iniisip mo iyan lagi (If you are always thinking that way), that’s malicious. The Constitution is very clear when may a President declare martial law. I don’t think it’s in the mind of the President right now,” Bersamin said in a Palace press briefing, when asked for a reaction.
“What he has in his mind is the economic prosperity of the country, the health and welfare of the people, especially those of the lower classes, and the prioritization of his legacy projects. The President accepts that as the number one concern. It’s not about martial law. It’s not about extending himself. No, he has no thinking about that. He does not even think in those terms,” he added.
Marcos on Dec. 30, 2024 issued Executive Order (EO) 81, reconstituting the NSC to ensure that the council members “uphold and protect national security and sovereignty, thereby fostering an environment conducive to effective governance and stability.”
According to EO 81, the NSC was reorganized so the council could remain “a resilient national security institution, capable of adapting to evolving challenges and opportunities both domestically and internationally.”
Bersamin also reacted to former chief presidential legal counsel Salvador Panelo’s claim that the removal of Vice President Sara Duterte as a member of the NSC was an “ill-advised presidential move.”
Panelo on Jan. 4 said Marcos’ reorganization of the NSC “smacks of dirty politics” and “another brazen measure to diminish the political star power of VP Sara.”
Bersamin said Panelo “has no moral authority to question the decision” of Marcos, stressing that the former Palace official also advocated to exclude then Vice President Leni Robredo from the NSC under the term of former president Rodrigo Duterte.
He also stressed that Marcos, having the power of absolute reorganization, “can choose the people he listens to or he would listen to.”
“Look at it this way, the National Security Council is an advisory body and this is an advisory body in relation to the President as the commander-in-chief so the President has the right, as well as the responsibility of seeing to it that whoever advises him is within his fullest trust and confidence,” he said.
“I’m not saying that the Vice President does not anymore deserve to be trusted. But I’m just saying that with the recent development, it is not going to be good advice or good action on the President to still have her on board,” Bersamin added.
Bersamin also maintained that the Vice President is “irrelevant” as far as NSC membership is concerned. (PNA)
