National Security Council (Philippines)

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National Security Council
Sanggunian ng Pambansang Seguridad
National Security Council of the Philippines.svg
Official Seal
Agency overview
FormedJuly 1, 1950;74 years ago (1950-07-01)
Preceding agency
  • Council of National Defense
Jurisdiction Philippines
Headquarters Malacañang Palace, Manila, Philippines
MottoKaunlaran, Katatagan, Kapayapaan
("Development, Stability, Peace")
Agency executives
Parent agency Office of the President
Website National Security Council of the Philippines

The National Security Council (NSC; Filipino : Sanggunian ng Pambansang Seguridad) is the principal forum of the president of the Philippines considering national security and foreign policy matters with his senior national security advisors and cabinet officials.

Contents

The NSC consists of two distinct bodies – the Council Proper and the Secretariat.

The Council Proper is a collegial body chaired by the President. It includes concerned officials of the Cabinet and Congress, as members, as well as other government officials and private citizens who may be invited by the president.

The Council was created during the Quirino Administration through Executive Order (EO) No. 330, dated July 1, 1950. It was reorganized by virtue of EO No. 115, series of 1986.

The NSC Secretariat is a permanent body that provides technical support to the council proper. It is headed by the Director-General, who is also appointed as the National Security Adviser.

History

Commonwealth Act No. 1 is the original policy basis of the national security program of the Republic of the Philippines. That act mandated the establishment of a Council of National Defense to advise the President on all matters of national defense policy. This council's membership previously consists of the President, all living former Presidents, the Vice President, the head of each executive department, the Chief of Staff, and six other members to be designated by the President. [1] [2]

Subsequent to World War II, which included a period during which the Commonwealth government operated as a government in exile, and subsequent to the recognition of the Republic of the Philippines as a sovereign nation, President Elpidio Quirino established the NSC as a body so named. [3]

The 1987 Constitution mandates civilian control of the military and establishes the President as Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces of the Philippines. The President also heads the NSC, ostensibly the policy-making and advisory body for matters connected with national defense. Former President Corazon Aquino reestablished the NSC in 1986 through an executive order that provided for a NSC Director to advise the President on national security matters and for a NSC Secretariat. The Council itself is composed of the President and at least nine others: the Vice President; the AFP chief of staff; NSC Director; the Executive Secretary; and the Secretaries of Foreign Affairs, National Defense, Interior and Local Government, Justice, and Labor and Employment (called ministers before 1987). By the end of 1990, however, the NSC had only convened twice. [4]

Responsibility for national security was vested in the Department of National Defense. The principal functions of the department in 1991 were to defend the state against internal and external threats and, through the Philippine National Police, to maintain law and order. The Secretary of National Defense, by law a civilian, was charged with advising the president on defense matters and developing defense policy.

In 2002, President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo won support from her Cabinet and the Congress for the deployment of American soldiers in the Philippines as part of the war on terrorism. She convened a meeting of the NSC to pull wavering officials - including her Vice President, Teofisto Guingona Jr. - into line and smooth over differences in her administration over the issue. Arroyo insisted her oppositions to marshal support for her stance to back a United States-led campaign against terrorism, not only to implement a unanimous UN Security Council resolution calling on UN members to bring the perpetrators to justice but also the Philippines' strategic alliance with the US and to assist the global campaign to end the scourge of terrorism. [5]

In 2016, the President Rodrigo Duterte convened the NSC and discussed his major initiatives: the war on illegal drugs, peace talks with communist and Moro rebels, and the territorial disputes with China. [6]

In January 2025, President Bongbong Marcos issued Executive Order No. 81 effectively removing the Vice President, as well as past presidents of the Philippines from the council. [7]

Then President Rodrigo Duterte (center) with (from left) former presidents Joseph Estrada, Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, Fidel V. Ramos, and Benigno Aquino III, before the start of a National Security Council meeting at Malacanang Palace on July 27, 2016 Credit: Rey Baniquet (Presidential Communications Operations Office, Office of the President) Rodrigo Duterte and his predecessors (Ramos, Estrada, Arroyo and Aquino III).jpg
Then President Rodrigo Duterte (center) with (from left) former presidents Joseph Estrada, Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, Fidel V. Ramos, and Benigno Aquino III, before the start of a National Security Council meeting at Malacañang Palace on July 27, 2016
Credit: Rey Baniquet (Presidential Communications Operations Office, Office of the President)

The National Security Advisor and Director-General serve as Chief of Staff and adviser for Special Concerns in National Security to the President. The NSA has a rank of Secretary in the government. The current Director-General and National Security Adviser is Secretary Eduardo Año.

Functions

The NSC's function is to advise the President with respect to the integration of domestic, foreign, and military policies relating to national security. It also serves as the President's principal arm for coordinating these policies among various government departments and agencies in matters involving national security.

Composition

As provided in the Administrative Code of 1987, the NSC is composed of the President as chairman, the Vice President, the Secretary of Foreign Affairs, the Executive Secretary, the Secretary of National Defense, the Secretary of Justice, the Secretary of Labor and Employment, the Secretary of Local Governments, the National Security Director, the Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), and such other government officials and private individuals as the President may appoint. [8]

In 1992, President Fidel Ramos reorganized the NSC to include the Secretaries of Science and Technology, Trade and Industry, Finance, and Environment and Natural Resources, and the Director-General of the National Economic and Development Authority. [9]

In 2001, President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo amended Ramos' Executive Order and reconstituted the NSC to its present form. [10] In 2024, President Bongbong Marcos revised the composition of the NSC by excluding the Vice President and former presidents. [11]

Council

As of January 2025, the members are as follows:

ClassOfficeCurrent members
Ex officio:
Executive		 President Bongbong Marcos
Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin
National Security Adviser Eduardo Año
Secretary of Foreign Affairs Enrique Manalo
Secretary of Justice Jesus Crispin Remulla
Secretary of National Defense Gilbert Teodoro
Secretary of the Interior and Local Government Jonvic Remulla
Secretary of Labor and Employment Bienvenido Laguesma
Chief Presidential Legal Counsel Juan Ponce Enrile
Secretary of the Presidential Communications Office Cesar Chavez (Acting)
Presidential Adviser on Legislative Affairs and Chief of the Presidential Legislative Liaison Office Mark Llandro Mendoza
Presidential Adviser on Military and Police AffairsRoman A. Felix
Ex officio:
Senate		 President Francis Escudero
President pro tempore Jinggoy Estrada
Majority Floor Leader Francis Tolentino
Minority Floor Leader Aquilino "Koko" Pimentel III
Chairperson, Senate Committee on Foreign Relations Imee Marcos
Chairperson, Senate Committee on National Defense and Security Jinggoy Estrada
Chairperson, Senate Committee on Public Order and Dangerous Drugs Ronald "Bato" Dela Rosa
Ex officio:
House of Representatives		 Speaker Ferdinand Martin Romualdez
Deputy Speaker List of Deputy Speakers
Majority Floor Leader Manuel Jose M. Dalipe
Minority Floor Leader Marcelino C. Libanan
Chairperson, House Committee on Foreign Affairs Maria Rachel Arenas
Chairperson, House Committee on National Defense and Security Raul Tupas
Chairperson, House Committee on Public Order and Safety Dan Fernandez

NSC Executive Committee

The NSC Executive Committee (EXECOM) reviews national security and defense problems and formulates positions or solutions for consideration by the council. It determines the Council's agenda and order of business and ensures that decisions of the Council are clearly communicated to the agencies concerned. It advises the President on the implementation of decisions. [10] As of January 2025, the EXECOM's members are:

PositionOfficeCurrent members
Chairperson President Bongbong Marcos
Members
Senate President Francis Escudero
House Speaker Martin Romualdez
Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin
National Security Adviser Eduardo Año
Secretary of Foreign Affairs Enrique Manalo
Secretary of Justice Jesus Crispin Remulla
Secretary of National Defense Gilbert Teodoro
Secretary of the Interior and Local Government Jonvic Remulla
Secretary of the Presidential Communications Office Cesar Chavez (Acting)

List of national security advisers

NameStartEndDurationPresident
Emanuel V. Soriano [12] [13] January 28, 1987February 17, 19892 years, 20 days Aquino
Rafael Ileto [14] February 17, 19891992?At least 3 years
Jose T. Almonte June 30, 1992June 30, 19986 years, 0 days Ramos
Alexander AguirreJune 30, 1998January 20, 20012 years, 204 days Estrada
Roilo Golez January 20, 2001December 31, 20032 years, 345 days Arroyo
Victor MayoJanuary 1, 2004August 23, 2004235 days
Hermogenes E. Ebdane, Jr. August 23, 2004February 2005162 days
Norberto B. Gonzales February 2005July 2, 20072 years, 151 days
Office vacant from July 2, 2007 to July 9, 2010.
Cesar P. Garcia, Jr. July 9, 2010June 30, 20165 years, 357 days Aquino III
Hermogenes C. Esperon, Jr. June 30, 2016June 30, 20226 years, 0 days Duterte
Clarita R. Carlos June 30, 2022January 14, 2023198 days Marcos Jr.
Eduardo M. Año January 14, 2023Incumbent1 year, 360 days

See also

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References

  1. ↑ "Commonwealth Act No. 1, "The National Defense Act"". Official Gazette of the Republic of the Philippines. December 21, 1935.
  2. ↑ Brief history of the Department of National Defense Archived 2009-12-29 at the Wayback Machine
  3. ↑ "Executive Order No. 330, s. 1950". Official Gazette of the Republic of the Philippines. July 1, 1950.
  4. ↑ Philippine Department of National Defense, GlobalSecurity.org
  5. ↑ Caballero-Anthony, Mely (1 October 2002). "U.S.-Philippines Relations Post-September 11: Security Dilemmas Of A Front-Line State In The War On Terrorism". S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies . S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies. Retrieved 22 November 2023.
  6. ↑ Salaverria, Leila (28 July 2016). "NSC meet attended by five Presidents". INQUIRER.net. Philippine Daily Inquirer. Retrieved 25 May 2021.
  7. ↑ Aurelio, Julie M. (2025-01-04). "Marcos drops VP Duterte, former presidents in NSC revamp". INQUIRER.net. Retrieved 2025-01-08.
  8. ↑ "Executive Order No. 292, s. 1987 - The Administrative Code of 1987". Official Gazette of the Republic of the Philippines. July 25, 1987.PD-icon.svg This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain .
  9. ↑ "Executive Order No. 33, s. 1992 - Amending Sections 1 and 2 of Executive Order No. 115, s. 1986 entitled "Reorganizing the National Security Council and Defining its membership, function, and authority and other purposes". Official Gazette of the Republic of the Philippines. November 18, 1992.PD-icon.svg This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain .
  10. 1 2 "Executive Order No. 34, s. 2001 - Reconstituting the National Security Council and for other purposes". Official Gazette of the Republic of the Philippines. September 17, 2001.PD-icon.svg This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain .
  11. ↑ "Marcos Jr. reorganizes National Security Council, removes vice president, ex-presidents from panel". ABS-CBN. January 3, 2025.
  12. ↑ Reyes, Dempsey (April 23, 2023). "Former UP president Emanuel Soriano; 87". Philippine Daily Inquirer . Retrieved January 7, 2025.
  13. ↑ The Aquino Management of the Presidency: In the Face of Crisis (PDF). Manila: Presidential Management Staff, Office of the President. June 1992. Retrieved January 7, 2025– via coryaquino.ph.
  14. ↑ "Ileto assumes post of security adviser". Manila Standard . Manila. February 18, 1989. p. 3. Retrieved January 7, 2025– via Google Books.
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