Clarita Carlos: Unfair to compare Bongbong with Marcos Sr

It is unfair to compare President-elect Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. to his father and namesake, late dictator Ferdinand Marcos, incoming National Security Adviser Clarita Carlos has said.

In the latest episode of The Mangahas Interviews, Carlos defended the younder incoming Chief Executive from criticisms saying he was “his own person.”

She added that Marcos was aware of the country’s current plight and the possible ways to resolve them.

“He is his own person also. It’s unfair to compare him to his father... Sabihin na naman ng mga tao sipsip ako kay Marcos. No. Now that I am older, I have a better understanding of human nature,” Carlos said.

(He is his own person also. It’s unfair to compare him to his father…People may speculate I am just favoring him. No. Now that I am older, I have a better understanding of human nature.)

“Ang daming alam ni President Bongbong na hindi natin alam na alam nya. He has a deep insight on what ails our nation and what needs to be done,” she added.

(President Bongbong knows a lot of things that we think he doesn’t know. He has a deep insight  into what ails our nation and what needs to be done.)

Carlos said she previously met with Marcos for a discussion on security and non-security issues and her meeting with Chinese Ambassador Huang Xilian.

She noticed the president-elect was “not a stickler for protocol” and focused on results.

“Kasi sabi ko sa kanya ‘Mr. President I’m sorry I did not ask your permission’ kasi mineet ko yung Ambassador ng China. Ang dami kong shinare sa kanya and natuwa sya sa mga shinare ko sa kanya with Huang Xilian… Naisip niya rin siguro na yung mga hindi isi-share ng ambassador with him, isi-share niya with me,” Carlos said.

(I told him ‘Mr. President, I’m sorry I did not ask your permission when I met the Chinese Ambassador. I shared a lot of things and he was happy with it... Maybe he thought that the things the ambassador would not share with him would be disclosed to me.)

“Nakita ko na hindi niya ako sasaklawin pero humingi rin ako ng guidance,” she added.

(I saw that he would not control me but of course, I still asked for his guidance.)

Upon assuming office, Carlos will become the first female and the third civilian to serve as the chief of the National Security Council (NSC).  She would also sit as the Vice-Chairman of the NTF-ELCAC.

Marcos earlier said that Carlos, a noted political science professor, could help his administration with her knowledge of foreign policy and international politics.

Carlos was a panelist at the SMNI presidential debate in March, the only debate Marcos participated in during the election period.

Carlos also served as the first female, civilian president of the National Defense College of the Philippines, serving from August 1998 to October 2001.

According to the Institute for Autonomy and Governance, Carlos has authored many books and papers on a wide range of themes spanning politics, governance, defense and security, and foreign policy.

The NSC, which is under the Office of the President, is the principal advisory body on the proper coordination and integration of plans and policies affecting national security.

The NSC Secretariat, the permanent body that provides technical support to the Council Proper, will be headed by the NSA. —NB, GMA News