AFP vows loyalty to flag after Marcos revamp of NSC

MANILA, Phiippines — The Armed Forces of the Philippines on Saturday reiterated its pledge of loyalty to flag and country amid speculations of a rift within its ranks following a presidential order removing Vice President Sara Duterte from the National Security Council (NSC).

The military “remains a united and professional organization, loyal to the flag, the Constitution, and the Filipino people,” said AFP spokesperson Col. Francel Margareth Padilla.

“It strictly adheres to the chain of command and is committed to serving impartially, in full compliance with the law and democratic processes,” Padilla told the Inquirer in a Viber message.

READ: Marcos reorganizes NSC, removes VP as member due to irrelevance

Her remarks were in response to statements from opposition figures identified with the Makayaban bloc that Mr. Marcos’ move “may signal fears of a possible rift within the military.”

Duterte mum

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. signed Executive Order No. 81 s. 2024 on Dec. 30, 2024, removing the vice president and former presidents from the NSC, which advises the president on national security matters. The order was made public only on Friday.

The vice president has so far remained mum over the issue.

On Saturday, the Office of the Vice President issued a brief statement when asked for Duterte’s comment: “The Vice President is already aware of the said matter. We’ll keep you posted.”

Aside from the vice president, former presidents, including her father Rodrigo Duterte, and her family’s ally Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, were among those removed from the NSC.

The Inquirer had reached out to Arroyo’s camp for comment but has yet to hear back as of writing.

National Security Adviser (NSA) Eduardo Año earlier said reconstituting the NSC was a necessary move to enhance the formulation of policies affecting national security.

He also noted that previous chief executives, including the president’s father, as well as Corazon Aquino, Fidel V. Ramos, and even Arroyo herself, have reorganized the NSC composition.

Presidential prerogative

Año, who is also NSC director general, said the Administrative Code of 1987 vests the chief executive with the continuing authority to reorganize the administrative structure of the Office of the President which the agency is a part of.

Two administration senators, meanwhile, backed the order saying it is the President’s discretion.

“It’s up to the President who he wants to include in the advisory body and who he wants to listen to regarding national security (matters),” Senate Majority Leader Francis Tolentino said in an interview with radio dwIZ.

Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian also believed it was the president’s prerogative but acknowledged that it might have been an offshoot of the falling out between the Marcoses and the Dutertes.

“As the second highest elected official of the government, the vice president’s views are important and the president should also consider them,” Gatchalian said in a separate radio interview.

“But we know the real situation in our country. We know what happened in 2024. I think that’s one of the reasons why the president decided to reorganize the NSC,” he added, referring to the vice president’s online news conference in November last year where she claimed to have talked to someone to kill Marcos if she was assassinated. She later said she was misinterpreted.

Family feud

Gatchalian also said it would have been better if former presidents were still allowed to sit in the council because their experience and knowledge would be vital in providing Mr. Marcos with informed opinions on national security issues.

Opposition figures identified with the Makabayan bloc said the development reflects the deepening rift between the Marcos and Duterte families.

In separate statements, ACT Teachers Rep. France Castro, Bayan President Renato Reyes and former lawmaker and lawyer Neri Colmenares said EO 81 demonstrated the “ugly face of elite politics and served no real purpose apart from gaining an upper hand on each other.”

“Sara’s removal, as well as her father (former President Rodrigo Duterte) from the NSC only shows that as the year is just beginning, so too is the struggle between the most prominent political dynasties in our country,” Castro said.

‘Political survival’

“This is not just about national security, this is about political survival,” echoed Colmenares. “These kinds of moves show ... how far warring political dynasties would go for power while the ordinary Filipino suffer from poverty.”

They warned that the NSC reorganization might signal deeper problems with the administration. Reyes said the sudden reorganization “may signal fears of a possible rift within the military establishment,” a claim that the military has dismissed.

Nevertheless, Colmenares said, wavering allegiances within the military “could have serious implications for the country’s stability.”

Ultimately, Reyes said, it does not matter who sits in the body as “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. What is interesting to us is how the dynamics of these contradictions expose the bankruptcy of the politics of the ruling elite,” Reyes said.

He urged Filipinos to “take it upon themselves to struggle for genuine political change that is not beholden to any of these political factions.”

—WITH REPORTS FROM KATHLEEN DE VILLA, MARLON RAMOS AND KRIXIA SUBINGSUBING

(2025/01/05-05:41)