ANN/THE STRAITS TIMES – Philippine Vice-President (VP) Sara Duterte will no longer sit on the National Security Council after President Ferdinand Marcos Jr signed an order removing her office from the agency, following a bitter split between the two former allies in 2024.
Marcos said the reorganisation of the National Security Council (NSC) was needed to “ensure that its council members uphold and protect national security and sovereignty”.
The vice-president’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
“At the moment, the VP is not considered relevant to the responsibilities of membership in the NSC,” Executive Secretary to the President Lucas Bersamin said in a statement.
The council’s re-organisation was also aimed at guaranteeing a resilient national security institution that was able to adapt to new challenges, according to the order, which was signed on December 30, 2024 and released on January 3.
The changes have also excluded former presidents from council membership and empowered Marcos to appoint “other government officials and private citizens” as needed.
Sara Duterte, the daughter of former president Rodrigo Duterte, is currently facing impeachment complaints accusing her of graft, incompetence and amassing ill-gotten wealth while in office. She has denied the allegations.
Duterte has said she had contracted an assassin to kill the president, his wife and cousin, who is the Speaker of the House of Representatives, if she herself were killed.
