President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has removed Vice President Sara Duterte as a member of the National Security Council (NSC) and the council’s official adviser, according to Executive Order (EO) No. 81. She was deemed “irrelevant” to the council.

According to the Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (Bayan), this reflects the widening rift between the Duterte and Marcos factions. Bayan believes that whoever sits on the council cannot be trusted to bring about real change as it defends the rotten status quo against the interests of the Filipino people. It argues that the NSC’s framework for security will remain aligned with imperialist interests and will continue to violate human rights.

Signed on December 30, 2024 but only made public on January 3, EO 81 or “Reorganizing the National Security Council” removed Sara Duterte and former presidents from the council, including her father, Rodrigo Duterte. Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin said the order aims to “reorganize and streamline the NSC membership.”

Bersamin stated that the vice president is no longer considered relevant to the responsibilities of the NSC. When the need arises, the EO reserves to the President the power to add members or advisers.

“The removal of Duterte and former presidents mirrors the widening rift and intensifying contradictions between the Marcos and Duterte factions as the country heads into the mid-term elections,” Bayan president Renato Reyes Jr. said. Reyes added that the removal might also signal fears of a possible rift within the military ranks.

It is worth noting that the NSC had previously opposed Sara Duterte’s threat to Marcos’ life in November 2022. Duterte’s threat was not only directed at Marcos but also at his wife, Liza Araneta-Marcos, and House Speaker Martin Romualdez.

EO 81 also granted the president the power to appoint two additional spokespersons for Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao, who will be members of the NSC, including the House Speaker. The NSC was last reorganized during the presidency of Gloria Macapagal Arroyo in 2001.