PRESIDENT Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo will schedule hopefully next week a "full meeting" of the National Security Council (NSC), said Defense Secretary and National Security Adviser Norberto Gonzales.
Gonzales said the gathering of the NSC, which had not held a meeting attended by all its bodies since 2005, is grounded on the country's insurgency in relation to the May elections.
The Defense secretary was attending Friday the 38th Bishop-Ulama Conference (BUC), which held a discussion on private armies, loose firearms, and this year's national and local elections.
"These are not just Mindanao issues, but national issues. I have confided to the president about today's conference and she said perhaps it would be best to approach the religious institution, make a dialogue first, on what she considers the most pressing issue the country is facing as of the moment," Gonzales said.
Gonzales said the outcome of the BUC's two-day event will be used during the NSC meeting, which would be attended various government departments and agencies in matters involving the national security.
NSC's function is to advise the President with respect to the integration of domestic, foreign, and military policies relating to the national security.
Gonzales also announced Friday that former National Security Council (NSC) Undersecretary Milo Ibrado replaced him as director general of NSC.
Ibrado, who was appointed into position on December, is the elder brother of Armed Forces of the Philippines Chief of Staff General Victor Ibrado. (JCZ)