Vice President Sara Duterte (left), President Marcos (MANILA BULLETIN)

Former Bayan Muna Party-list Rep. Neri Colmenares said the reorganization of the National Security Council (NSC) exposes the deepening wedge between the Marcos and Duterte factions ahead of the 2025 midterm elections.

Under Executive Order (EO) No. 81, President Marcos ordered the removal of the Vice President and past presidents from the composition of the NSC. 

Marcos said this was to ensure that the NSC was “capable of adapting to evolving challenges and opportunities both domestically and internationally”.

In a statement on Sunday, Jan. 5, Colmenares said the reorganization was not about national security, but rather “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,” he said.

Once close allies under the “UniTeam” tandem, which dominated the 2022 national elections, President Marcos and Vice President Duterte are now engaged in a bitter political feud.

To recall, Duterte admitted last month to having contacted an assassin to kill Marcos, First Lady Liza Araneta Marcos, and House Speaker Martin Romualdez if she was killed.

The President declared he would not tolerate such threats against him, as the NSC regarded the Vice President’s remarks as a matter of national security.

Colmenares, a member of the Makabayan Coalition, warned that the NSC revamp might signal worse problems within the administration.

"Their removal may also indicate fears of a possible rift within the military establishment, which could have serious implications for the country's stability,” he added.

The former congressman, however, emphasized that Filipinos cannot expect any real change in whoever sits in the NSC. 

"The Filipino people must take it upon themselves to struggle for genuine political change that is not beholden to any of these political factions," he said.

Established under the administration of former president Elpidio Quirino, the NSC is the principal advisory body on the proper coordination and integration of plans and policies affecting national security.

Colmenares further stressed that the intensifying feud between Marcos and Duterte is proof that Philippine politics is a mere battleground for political dynasties while the Filipino people suffer in poverty.

“Tumataas na ang lahat mula kuryente, gasolina, tubig pati SSS (Social Security System) tapos binaba pa ang budget para sa mga serbisyong panlipunan pero walang pake dito ang mga Marcos at Duterte," he noted.

(The cost of everything is increasing including electricity, gasoline, water, and even the SSS, and yet the budget for social services has been reduced, but the Marcos and Duterte factions don't seem to care.)