OUT AND IN | Clarita Carlos (left photo), a retired political science professor from the University of the Philippines, leaves her post as national security adviser to President Marcos after six months. She was promptly replaced by Eduardo A帽o, a former military chief and interior secretary, on Saturday. (SENATE PRIB/PCO PHOTOS)
MANILA, Philippines 鈥� Top generals who served the previous administration are back in the harness under President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., who swore in former Interior Secretary Eduardo A帽o as his new national security adviser (NSA), replacing academic Clarita Carlos on Saturday.
The Presidential Communications Office (PCO) said Carlos had decided to continue 鈥渉er pursuit of scholastic endeavors鈥� and rejoined the Congressional Policy and Budget Research Department of the House of Representatives.
Shortly after announcing A帽o as the new NSA, the PCO released a statement attributed to Carlos.
鈥淚 have realized that it is no longer politic to continue as NSA to the President and so, I have decided to migrate to another agency where my expertise on foreign, defense, and security policy will be of use and I shall continue to help build a Better Philippines,鈥� said the retired University of the Philippines (UP) political science professor.
With A帽o back in government, the president has changed his defense and military chiefs, and NSA 鈥� the key officials of the country鈥檚 defense and security establishment 鈥� all within a week.
鈥楥辞苍蹿耻蝉别诲鈥�
Marcos reappointed Gen. Andres Centino as chief of staff of the Armed Forces of the Philippines, replacing Lt. Gen. Bartolome Bacarro, his first AFP chief.
Centino, 55, was appointed AFP chief by former President Rodrigo Duterte on Nov. 12, 2021, and held the post until Aug. 8, 2022, when he was removed for undisclosed reasons by Mr. Marcos.
On Jan. 9, the president named Carlito Galvez Jr., a former chief of staff like A帽o, as the new defense secretary after Gen. Jose Faustino Jr., the defense officer in charge, resigned.
Faustino later said that he wasn鈥檛 informed about Centino鈥檚 reappointment and Bacarro鈥檚 retirement.
Carlos herself also said in a television interview that she was 鈥渃onfused鈥� and wasn鈥檛 notified prior to Centino鈥檚 return as AFP chief.
Galvez, 60, served as Duterte鈥檚 military chief from April to December 2018 and was appointed as presidential adviser on the peace process after his retirement.
He later headed the National Task Force Against COVID-19 and led the national vaccination program until the Marcos administration took over.
A帽o, 61, was named undersecretary of the Department of the Interior and Local Government following his retirement in 2017.
Jonas Burgos case
He took over as secretary in November 2018 until Duterte鈥檚 term ended in June last year.
A帽o was head of Army intelligence and was one of the respondents named responsible for the abduction and disappearance of farmer-activist Jonas Burgos in April 2007. The Department of Justice dismissed the charges filed against him by the Burgos family for lack of probable cause.
Buzz at Aguinaldo
As former Army generals, A帽o, Galvez, and Centino could focus on ending the 53-year-old communist insurgency that all previous administrations promised but failed to accomplish, according to security analyst Chester Cabalza.
Col. Medel Aguilar, the AFP spokesperson, said the military was 鈥減roud and happy to see a former AFP chief of staff advising the President on matters of national security.鈥�
Talk about Carlos鈥� eventual exit has been going around Camp Aguinaldo, where the AFP and the Department of National Defense (DND) headquarters are located, since Marcos announced that she was his choice for NSA on June 8, 2022, as she was not supported by both active and retired servicemen.
The NSA post is typically held by former military officers or politicians with a defense background. Carlos was the first woman and the third civilian to hold the position after Norberto Gonzales and former UP president Emanuel Soriano, during the administrations of former Presidents Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and Corazon Aquino, respectively.
Cabalza said Carlos鈥� fate was already 鈥渆xpected and destined to happen.鈥�
鈥淗er platform on human security as national security adviser did not scale up to the expectations of Malaca帽ang, given the intensified power play of superpowers in our backyard,鈥� said Cabalza, founding president of the International Development and Security Cooperation, a Manila-based security think tank.
鈥淚t was all rhetoric and was not responsive to security anxieties on the ground in the West Philippine Sea,鈥� he added in an interview with the Inquirer.
鈥淗er lack of experience on the ground and dependence on theoretical frameworks made it laughable for her critics as she operated as if she teaches inside the classroom,鈥� Cabalza said.
WPS issue
As NSA, Carlos also headed the National Task Force for the West Philippine Sea, which monitors incursions into Philippine waters, mostly by Chinese fishermen, coast guard, and maritime militia forces.
Cabalza said his military sources, whom he did not identify, told him that Carlos had 鈥渃ozy closeness with Beijing鈥� and also 鈥渄oubted her value judgment for the best interest of the country.鈥�
He said A帽o鈥檚 appointment as NSA, would 鈥渋ntensify鈥� the efforts of the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-Elcac) in ending the insurgency.
鈥淭he mere fact that Generals A帽o, Galvez, and Centino are Army generals, the trinity leaders from AFP, DND, and NSC (National Security Council) will join forces to end our insurgency problem,鈥� Cabalza said.
As NSA, A帽o will serve as the vice chair of the controversial NTF-Elcac, whose former officials had Red-tagged activists and government critics. Carlos disapproved of the practice, calling it 鈥渦nproductive鈥� in pursuing long-lasting peace.
A帽o will also be the vice chair of the Anti-Terrorism Council, which has the authority to classify groups or individuals as terrorists under the Anti-Terrorism Act.
Chance to reshape policy
According to Cabalza, the change in the heads of the AFP, DND, and NSC would help Mr. Marcos 鈥渞edraw his defense and security policies to help him craft a sound foreign policy amid a multipolar world.鈥�
The return of the NSA post to a retired AFP chief would be a morale booster to the military, and temporarily quell the ramblings in Camp Aguinaldo caused by the unprecedented movements, he added.
At the House of Representatives, Deputy Minority Leader France Castro said the 鈥渟upposed game of the generals 鈥� seems to be a widespread, ongoing purge of appointees linked to former Executive Secretary Vic Rodriguez.鈥�
鈥淚n the process, those placed were former generals whose loyalties and policies may still lie with the ex-President and his family and not with President Marcos,鈥� she said.
Castro said A帽o鈥檚 appointment was the 鈥渕ost troubling as he is known as a militarist red-tagger.鈥�