Marcos removes VP, past presidents in National Security Council

Metro Manila, Philippines - President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has dropped the vice president and all living former presidents as members of the National Security Council (NSC) under Executive Order (EO) 81.

In a statement, Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin said the EO aims to streamline the council membership, and that the vice president does not fit the mold at this time.

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

The vice president and all living former presidents have been members of the council since it was created during the Quirino administration in 1950 to advise the President on all matters of national defense policy. The body was reorganized four times during the Marcos Sr., (Cory) Aquino, Ramos, and Macapagal administrations but the vice president and former presidents stayed as members.

Vice President Sara Duterte previously questioned her supposed exclusion from previous NSC meetings even if Marcos has not convened the council since assuming office in 2022.

The vice president said she has not received a single notice of meeting from the NSC since she assumed office on June 30, 2022.

“I would like to see a copy of the notice of meeting with proof of service, the list of attendees, photos of the meeting, and the notarized minutes of meeting where the council, whether present or past, resolved to consider the remarks by a vice president against a president,” she said in an interview in November.

“Please include in the agenda for the next meeting my request to present to the council the threats to the vice president, the OVP (Office of the Vice President) institution and its personnel,” Duterte said.