According to Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin, the amendment introduced to the composition of the National Security Council (NSC) to exclude the Vice President from sitting as member thereof is because the latter is irrelevant to the NSC.
The NSC amendment appears to be the latest of the Marcos administration’s moves to limit the participation of Vice President Sara Duterte from the affairs of government. It comes at the heels of the dramatic cut to the OVP budget for fiscal year 2025.
The revision to the NSC composition strikingly bears only the exclusion of the Vice President as the notable change. The rationale of the VP being irrelevant obviously is political in nature to ensure that the NSC is composed only of people loyal to the President. The rest of the NSC membership bear representations of much lower importance. It is easy to tell, there are more members in the NSC who are far less irrelevant if not insignificant to the NSC than the VP, who is supposed to be the alter ego of the President.
Without the VP, the NSC will have a membership all nodding to what its chairman says. No checks and balances.
The move is not surprising though. Given the propensity of this administration to ease out those who go against its will.
Sadly, we think that democracy is a lonely, empty word.
The NSC’s revisions in membership speak volumes other than the mere relevance or irrelevance of a government position. It is clearly restraint.
