Former chief presidential legal counsel Salvador Panelo denied claims that he advocated for the exclusion of former Vice President Leni Robredo from the National Security Council (NSC).
Panelo clarified that Robredo was invited and attended the NSC meeting in July 2016 with four former presidents during the Duterte administration.
He was responding to Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin’s statement that Panelo had “no moral authority” to question the NSC reorganization, which removed Vice President Sara Duterte and former presidents from the council.
Panelo criticized the decision as “ill-advised” and accused it of being driven by “dirty politics.”
Bersamin, on the other hand, emphasized that the decision was not personal but based on the Vice President’s relevance to the NSC’s responsibilities.
Source: PhilNews24 | January 8, 2025
