Former House Deputy Speaker Erin Tañada —File photo by Cathy Miranda | INQUIRER.net
MANILA, Philippines — Supporters of the Duterte family should remember that former President Rodrigo Duterte also excluded former Vice President Leni Robredo from attending National Security Council (NSC) meetings when he was in office.
In a tweet on Saturday, former House Deputy Speaker Erin Tañada reposted a quote from former presidential spokesperson Salvador Panelo, who called the removal of Duterte’s daughter, Vice President Sara Duterte, from the NSC as “dirty politics.”
The younger Duterte, along with past presidents, was removed from the NSC by Executive Order No. 1 that President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. issued on December 30, 2024.
Tañada, a long-time ally of Robredo, asked why Marcos’ move was now considered “dirty” when former President Duterte also did the same.
“During the term of PDU30, he prevented VPLeni from National Security Council meetings. So why is it wrong now? Why is it ‘dirty politics’?” Tañada asked.
“So it must have been also wrong during PDu30s term. It is the prerogative of a president to invite who [he] wants to the NSC,” he added.
During the term of PDu30, he prevented VPLeni from National Security Council meetings. So why is it wrong now? Why is it “dirty politics”? So it must have been also wrong during PDu30s term😂 It is the prerogative of a President to invite who we wants to the NSC. #MLPartylist #ML https://t.co/9hiBO2yGQA
— Erin Tañada #6MLPartylist (@erintanada) January 4, 2025
Robredo was neither explicitly nor formally removed from the NSC as Marcos did to Vice President Duterte. However, Robredo said last December 2016 that Cabinet Secretary Jun Evasco Jr., relayed ex-President Duterte’s instruction through former special assistant and now Sen. Christopher Go, for her to “desist from attending all Cabinet meetings.”
READ: Robredo asked to stop attending Cabinet meetings, quits post
Duterte and Robredo belonged to opposing parties during the 2016 elections — the former president hailing from PDP-Laban and the ex-vice president being a stalwart of the then-ruling Liberal Party.
Unlike the two, Marcos and Vice President Duterte were part of a single ticket in the 2022 polls, called Uniteam. Observers believe that tensions in 2023 broke out and became a full-blown rift between the Marcoses and the Dutertes.
READ: ‘Broken from start’, UniTeam sees complete collapse
According to Marcos’ executive order, there was a need to reorganize the NSC to “further guarantee that the NSC remains a resilient national security institution, capable of adapting to evolving challenges and opportunities both domestically and internationally.”
READ: Marcos drops VP Duterte, former presidents in NSC revamp
While it was not mentioned in the executive order, Marcos and the Dutertes appear to be on different sides of foreign policy issues. During the term of Rodrigo Duterte, the Philippines mended ties with China, which were strained due to the numerous diplomatic protests lodged by Manila.
Before Duterte won the presidency, the Philippine government filed a case against China before the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA), insisting on its claims over islands and waters in the West Philippine Sea. The PCA then gave the award to the Philippines last July 2016, as China’s nine-dash line claim had no legal or historical basis.
Rodrigo Duterte called the arbitral award a piece of paper that can be thrown into the trash bin, while Marcos has maintained that the victory is important.
READ: Marcos says Permanent Court of Arbitration vital to PH foreign policy
READ: Duterte on PH court win over China: ‘That’s just paper; I’ll throw that in the wastebasket’
Despite the changes, progressive groups Bayan Muna and Bagong Alyansang Makabayan noted that the country would not benefit from this, saying this just revealed a worsening dispute between ruling political families.
In a statement on Sunday, former Bayan Muna Rep. Neri Colmenares said that President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s decision to make changes at the NSC may not be about national security, but political survival.
“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 claimed.
“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.
READ: NSC changes reveal worsening political disputes – groups
Meanwhile, Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (Bayan) President Renato Reyes Jr. questioned if the political tension between the Marcos-Duterte camps also signals a rift within the military establishments, as some officials may support a particular personality.
“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 Duterte and their ally former president Arroyo are known political opponents of the President. Their removal may also signal fears of a possible rift within the military establishment,” he added.