Senate leaders have expressed contentment on what had
transpired in the historic National Security Council (NSC) meeting convened by
President Rodrigo R. Duterte on Wednesday at the Aguinaldo Hall in Malacanang.
Senate President Aquilino Pimentel III described the
five-hour NSC meeting as very successful and productive, highlighted by the
presence of four former Presidents -- Fidel V. Ramos, Joseph Ejercito Estrada,
Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and Benigno S. Aquino III.
”The atmosphere was serious but the President (Rodrigo R.
Duterte) has his way of lightening the atmosphere. It’s a consultative process,
being a democracy,” Pimentel said.
Pimentel said that based on what they have tackled during
the meeting, “we’ll have to discuss which of them need legislative
interventions.”
For Senate Minority Leader Ralph Recto, the presence of the
past presidents and members of the minority blocs both from the Senate and the
House of Representatives proves that President Duterte is a practitioner of
“inclusive politics.”
”I can sense that he likes to crowd sources ideas,” Recto
said.
”Judging by how he appreciated the views shared by the
attendees yesterday, we can expect more groups to be convened as his sounding
boards,” he added.
With the successful NSC meeting, Recto is expecting the
Legislative-Executive Development Advisory Council (LEDAC), which was
mothballed in the past six years, can be revived as productive forum to discuss
government policies.
”I have been asked to describe his style of running
high-level meetings. He (President Duterte) can be focused one moment and funny
the next. It is both educational and entertaining. This guy’s thought process
is good. He knows when to summarize points and where to shepherd the discussion,”
Recto said.
”To break the monotony of long meetings, yesterday was
almost five hours long, he has this comedian’s gift of timing on when to crack
jokes. He gave great inputs, and with his humor, in-house entertainment as
well,” he added.
For his part, Senator Panfilo Lacson said the NSC meeting
went very well that had direction, substance, consensus and unity of purpose.
Lacson attended the NSC meeting as vice chairman of the
Senate Committee on National Defense and Security.
”As usual, as what is always expected of vintage Rody, we
enjoyed the ad libs, not to mention the asides and not-so-subtle sniping at his
favorite critic,” Lacson said, obviously referring to neophyte Senator Leila de
Lima.
De Lima’s Senate Committee on Justice and Human Rights is
set to conduct a Senate inquiry on the alleged illegal drug-related killings
amid the intensified campaign of the Duterte administration against drug
syndicates.
De Lima, a former Justice secretary and Commission on Human
Rights chairperson, had investigated the alleged extrajudicial killings in Davao City
Lacson said the unprecedented presence of four former
Philippine presidents in the NSC meeting “added to the luster of the occasion.”
”But not without their own valuable input on what the
country needs to do to advance our national interest in regard to the arbitral
tribunal ruling on the West Philippine Sea issue, the peace talks and the fight
against illegal drugs,” he added.
In a press statement, Presidential Spokesman Ernesto Abella
said the NSC meeting was intended to update and consult with the members of the
NSC as the Duterte administration proceeds with its mandate to establish peace
and order, create conditions conducive to a more inclusive and better life for
all.
”The NSC meeting was historic in that for the first time,
five presidents met in an extraordinary show of goodwill and unity to discuss
defense and security issues facing the nation. The tone was respectful and
consultative,” Abella said.
http://www.pna.gov.ph/index.php?idn=1&sid=&nid=1&rid=908246
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