President Bongbong Marcos and Vice President Sara Duterte — MARIANNE BERMUDEZ /GRIG C. MONTEGRANDE/INQUIRER FILES
MANILA, Philippines — The reorganization of the National Security Council (NSC), particularly the removal of Vice President Sara Duterte and past presidents, just reveals a worsening dispute between ruling political families, two progressive groups said Sunday.
In a statement, former Bayan Muna Rep. Neri Colmenares said President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s decision to reorganize the NSC may not be about national security.
“The removal of Vice President Sara Duterte and former presidents from the NSC clearly shows the widening rift between the Marcos and Duterte factions. This is not just about national security – this is about political survival,” Colmenares said.
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“These steps show the real face of Philippine politics — a big dispute for power between dynasties while the Filipino people suffer in poverty. Prices of electricity, fuel, water, and even SSS pensions have increased, but the budget for social services was brought down, but the Marcoses and the Dutertes do not care,” he added in Filipino.
Political tension
Meanwhile, Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (Bayan) president Renato Reyes Jr. questioned if the political tension between the Marcos and Duterte camps also signals a rift within the military establishments, as some officials may support a particular personality.
READ: VP Sara Duterte’s removal from NSC sparks dynastic clash
“The removal of the Vice President and former presidents as members of the National Security Council reflects the widening rift and intensifying contradictions between the Marcos and Duterte factions as the country heads into the mid-term elections,” Reyes said.
“The Vice President and former President [Rodrigo] Duterte and their ally former President [Gloria Macapagal] Arroyo are known political opponents of the President. Their removal may also signal fears of a possible rift within the military establishment,” he added.
READ: NSC: All threats to Marcos are a matter of ‘national security’
Last December 30, 2024, Marcos issued Executive Order No. 81, reorganizing the presidential advisory body.
NSC reorganization
According to Marcos, there was 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.”
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Marcos and the Dutertes — despite the President and the Vice President running under the same ticket in the 2022 elections — appear to be on different sides regarding foreign policy.
During the term of former President Duterte, the Philippines mended strained ties with China.
During the Aquino administration, the Philippines filed a case against China before the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA), insisting its claims over islands and waters in the West Philippine Sea. The PCA ruled in favor of the Philippines in July 2016, declaring that China’s nine-dash line claim had no legal or historical basis.
While former President Duterte called the arbitral award a piece of paper that can be thrown into the trash bin, Marcos has maintained that the victory is important.
No significant change
Still, both Colmenares and Reyes believe no significant change would be felt from the changes at the NSC.
“Whoever sits in the NSC, the Filipino people cannot expect any real change as the body is sworn to defend the rotten status quo against the interests of the Filipino people. Things are not going to change whichever politician sits on the council. The country’s security framework will remain aligned with imperialist interests. Human rights violations will also continue,” Reyes said.
“Ang NSC ay instrumento lamang ng mga naghaharing uri para protektahan ang kanilang interes (The NSC is just an instrument of the ruling class to protect their interests),” Colmenares said. “These contradictions expose the bankruptcy of elite politics. The Filipino people must take it upon themselves to struggle for genuine political change that is not beholden to any of these political factions.”