Executive Secretary Ralph Recto said the Philippines must build a nation that is both “safe” and “free” as the country faces security threats that now extend beyond conventional military conflict.
Speaking during the anniversary celebration of the National Security Council (NSC) and the National Intelligence Coordinating Agency (NICA) on Tuesday, Recto said modern threats include maritime harassment, disinformation, cyberattacks, violent extremism, and foreign interference.
He said the country must defend its freedom with vigilance, but warned that security should never be used as a reason to weaken democratic liberties.
“Freedom is not defended by sentiment alone. It survives only when a nation has the will, the wisdom, and the means to defend it,” Recto said.
Recto said Philippine history offers two enduring lessons: that the love of freedom runs deep among Filipinos, and that threats to freedom are never as distant as they may seem.
He said future threats may no longer begin with marching armies or resemble the conflicts of the past. Instead, he said the battlefield now includes “our servers, our classrooms, communities, and the minds of our people.”
“It may begin with a ship blocking a Filipino fisherman from entering his traditional fishing ground. It may begin with a false story designed to make Filipinos distrust one another,” Recto said.
“With a cyberattack on a government system, a power grid, a bank, a hospital, or a school. With extremism exploiting poverty, fear, or anger. Or with foreign interference wearing a local face. This is the character of national security in our time,” he added.
Recto said the country must strengthen its preparedness in cyberspace, where a single breach can now “paralyze services, steal secrets, weaken trust, and endanger lives.”
He also said that in the age of artificial intelligence, national security requires intelligence systems capable of keeping pace with emerging threats.
Recto warned that the country must also protect its information space from manipulation and disinformation.
“A lie repeated a thousand times should not be allowed to defeat a truth spoken once. It becomes an attack on trust, on institutions, and on democracy itself,” he said.
On the West Philippine Sea, Recto said defending national security means protecting the country’s sovereign rights while remaining committed to peace.
“We will not provoke. But we will not retreat. We will not seek conflict. But we will not yield what is ours. For our seas are not abstract lines on a map. They are the workplace of our fishermen, the pantry of our people, the inheritance of our children,” he said.
Recto said the Marcos administration remains committed to supporting the NSC and NICA by modernizing security strategies, improving national preparedness, and strengthening programs that protect the country from both traditional and emerging threats.
“Let us do more than our best every day…Hindi tayo maiisahan. Hindi tayo pasisindak,” Recto said.
“Let us do more than our best every day…we will not be outsmarted. We will not be intimidated,” he added.