Assistant Director General Jonathan Malaya, National Security Council spokesman —File photo by Arnel Tacson| INQUIRER.net
MANILA, Philippines — The restructuring of the National Security Council (NSC) does not indicate any rift within the country’s security sector, according to NSC spokesperson Jonathan Malaya.
In a public briefing on Monday, Malaya was asked to comment on speculation that the council’s reorganization is a sign of a split within the security sector.
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“There’s no rift in the security sector. Our uniformed soldiers and government personnel are 100 percent behind the constituted authority and the chain of command,” he said in a mix of Filipino and English at the Bagong Pilipinas Ngayon briefing.
On Sunday, former Bayan Muna Rep. Neri Colmenares said President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s decision to reorganize the NSC, which removed Vice President Sara Duterte and past presidents as members, may be due to the “widening rift between the Marcos and Duterte factions.”
“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,” Colmenares said in a statement.
READ: Ex-president also excluded Robredo from NSC – Tañada to Duterte allies
Meanwhile, Bagong Alyansang Makabayan President Renato Reyes Jr. questioned whether the political tension between the Marcos and Duterte camps also signals a rift within the military establishment, as some officials may support a particular personality.
“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 said.