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National Security Council
Sanggunian ng Pambansang Seguridad
	Official Seal
Agency overview
Formed	July 1, 1950; 74 years ago
Preceding agency	Council of National Defense;
Jurisdiction	Philippines
Headquarters	Malacañang Palace, Manila, Philippines
Motto	Kaunlaran, Katatagan, Kapayapaan ; ("Development, Stability, Peace")
Agency executives	President Bongbong Marcos, Chairman; Sec. Eduardo Año, National Security Adviser and Director-General; Usec. Jonathan Malaya, Assistant Director General and Spokesperson;
Parent agency	Office of the President
Website	National Security Council of the Philippines

The National Security Council (NSC; Filipino: Sanggunian ng Pambansang Seguridad) is the principal forum of the president of the Philippines considering national security and foreign policy matters with his senior national security advisors and cabinet officials.

The NSC consists of two distinct bodies – the Council Proper and the Secretariat.

The Council Proper is a collegial body chaired by the President. It includes concerned officials of the Cabinet and Congress, as members, as well as other government officials and private citizens who may be invited by the president.

The Council was created during the Quirino Administration through Executive Order (EO) No. 330, dated July 1, 1950. It was reorganized by virtue of EO No. 115, series of 1986.

The NSC Secretariat is a permanent body that provides technical support to the council proper. It is headed by the Director-General, who is also appointed as the National Security Adviser.

History

Commonwealth Act No. 1 is the original policy basis of the national security program of the Republic of the Philippines. That act mandated the establishment of a Council of National Defense to advise the President on all matters of national defense policy. This council's membership consists of the President, all living former Presidents, the Vice President, the head of each executive department, the Chief of Staff, and six other members to be designated by the President.^[1]^[2]

Subsequent to World War II, which included a period during which the Commonwealth government operated as a government in exile, and subsequent to the recognition of the Republic of the Philippines as a sovereign nation, President Elpidio Quirino established the NSC as a body so named.^[3]

The 1987 Constitution mandates civilian control of the military and establishes the President as Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces of the Philippines. The President also heads the NSC, ostensibly the policy-making and advisory body for matters connected with national defense. Former President Corazon Aquino reestablished the NSC in 1986 through an executive order that provided for a NSC Director to advise the President on national security matters and for a NSC Secretariat. The Council itself is composed of the President and at least nine others: the Vice President; the AFP chief of staff; NSC Director; the Executive Secretary; and the Secretaries of Foreign Affairs, National Defense, Interior and Local Government, Justice, and Labor and Employment (called ministers before 1987). By the end of 1990, however, the NSC had only convened twice.^[4]

Responsibility for national security was vested in the Department of National Defense. The principal functions of the department in 1991 were to defend the state against internal and external threats and, through the Philippine National Police, to maintain law and order. The Secretary of National Defense, by law a civilian, was charged with advising the president on defense matters and developing defense policy.

In 2002, President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo won support from her Cabinet and the Congress for the deployment of American soldiers in the Philippines as part of the war on terrorism. She convened a meeting of the NSC to pull wavering officials - including her Vice President, Teofisto Guingona Jr. - into line and smooth over differences in her administration over the issue. Arroyo insisted her oppositions to marshal support for her stance to back a United States-led campaign against terrorism, not only to implement a unanimous UN Security Council resolution calling on UN members to bring the perpetrators to justice but also the Philippines' strategic alliance with the US and to assist the global campaign to end the scourge of terrorism.^[5]

In 2016, the President Rodrigo Duterte convened the NSC and discussed his major initiatives: the war on illegal drugs, peace talks with communist and Moro rebels, and the territorial disputes with China.^[6]

The National Security Advisor and Director-General serve as Chief of Staff and adviser for Special Concerns in National Security to the President. The NSA has a rank of Secretary in the government. The current Director-General and National Security Adviser is Secretary Eduardo Año.

Functions

The NSC's function is to advise the President with respect to the integration of domestic, foreign, and military policies relating to national security. It also serves as the President's principal arm for coordinating these policies among various government departments and agencies in matters involving national security.

Composition

As provided in the Administrative Code of 1987, the NSC is composed of the President as chairman, the Vice President, the Secretary of Foreign Affairs, the Executive Secretary, the Secretary of National Defense, the Secretary of Justice, the Secretary of Labor and Employment, the Secretary of Local Governments, the National Security Director, the Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), and such other government officials and private individuals as the President may appoint.^[7]

In 1992, President Fidel Ramos reorganized the NSC to include the Secretaries of Science and Technology, Trade and Industry, Finance, and Environment and Natural Resources, and the Director-General of the National Economic and Development Authority.^[8]

In 2001, President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo amended Ramos' Executive Order and reconstituted the NSC to its present form.^[9]

Council

As of May 2024, the members are as follows:

Class	Office	Current members
Ex officio: Executive	President	Bongbong Marcos
	Vice President	Sara Duterte
	Executive Secretary	Lucas Bersamin
	National Security Adviser	Eduardo Año
	Secretary of Foreign Affairs	Enrique Manalo
	Secretary of Justice	Jesus Crispin Remulla
	Secretary of National Defense	Gilbert Teodoro
	Secretary of the Interior and Local Government	Jonvic Remulla
	Secretary of Labor and Employment	Bienvenido Laguesma
	Chief Presidential Legal Counsel	Juan Ponce Enrile
	Secretary of the Presidential Communications Office	Cesar Chavez (Acting)
	Presidential Adviser on Legislative Affairs and Chief of the Presidential Legislative Liaison Office	Mark Llandro Mendoza
	Presidential Adviser on Military and Police Affairs	Roman A. Felix
Ex officio: Senate	President	Francis Escudero
	President pro tempore	Jinggoy Estrada
	Majority Floor Leader	Francis Tolentino
	Minority Floor Leader	Aquilino "Koko" Pimentel III
	Chairperson, Senate Committee on Foreign Relations	Imee Marcos
	Chairperson, Senate Committee on National Defense and Security	Jinggoy Estrada
	Chairperson, Senate Committee on Public Order and Dangerous Drugs	Ronald "Bato" Dela Rosa
Ex officio: House of Representatives	Speaker	Ferdinand Martin Romualdez
	Deputy Speaker	List of Deputy Speakers
	Majority Floor Leader	Manuel Jose M. Dalipe
	Minority Floor Leader	Marcelino C. Libanan
	Chairperson, House Committee on Foreign Affairs	Maria Rachel Arenas
	Chairperson, House Committee on National Defense and Security	Raul Tupas
	Chairperson, House Committee on Public Order and Safety	Dan S. Fernandez
Former Officeholders	President	Joseph Estrada Gloria Macapagal Arroyo Rodrigo Duterte

NSC Executive Committee

The NSC Executive Committee (EXECOM) reviews national security and defense problems and formulates positions or solutions for consideration by the council. It determines the Council's agenda and order of business and ensures that decisions of the Council are clearly communicated to the agencies concerned. It advises the President on the implementation of decisions.^[9] As of January 2023, the EXECOM's members are:

Position	Office	Current members
Chairperson	President	Bongbong Marcos
Members	Vice President	Sara Duterte
	Senate President	Francis Escudero
	House Speaker	Martin Romualdez
	Executive Secretary	Lucas Bersamin
	National Security Adviser	Eduardo Año
	Secretary of Foreign Affairs	Enrique Manalo
	Secretary of Justice	Jesus Crispin Remulla
	Secretary of National Defense	Gilbert Teodoro
	Secretary of the Interior and Local Government	Jonvic Remulla
	Secretary of the Presidential Communications Office	Cesar Chavez (Acting)

List of national security advisers


Name	Start	End	Duration	President
Emanuel V. Soriano	unknown			Aquino
Jose T. Almonte	June 30, 1992	June 30, 1998	6 years, 0 days	Ramos
Alexander Aguirre	June 30, 1998	January 20, 2001	2 years, 204 days	Estrada
Roilo Golez	January 20, 2001	December 31, 2003	2 years, 345 days	Arroyo
Victor Mayo	January 1, 2004	August 23, 2004	235 days
Hermogenes E. Ebdane, Jr.	August 23, 2004	February 2005	162 days
Norberto B. Gonzales	February 2005	July 2, 2007	2 years, 151 days
Office vacant from July 2, 2007 to July 9, 2010.
Cesar P. Garcia, Jr.	July 9, 2010	June 30, 2016	5 years, 357 days	Aquino III
Hermogenes C. Esperon, Jr.	June 30, 2016	June 30, 2022	6 years, 0 days	Duterte
Clarita R. Carlos	June 30, 2022	January 14, 2023	198 days	Marcos Jr.
Eduardo M. Año	January 14, 2023	Incumbent	1 year, 338 days	Marcos Jr.