Secretary of National Defense (Philippines)

The secretary of national defense (Filipino: Kalihim ng Tanggulang Pambansa) is the head of the Department of National Defense of the Philippines and a member of the president's Cabinet.^[3]

Secretary of National Defense
Kalihim ng Tanggulang Pambansa
Official seal of the Department of National Defense
Incumbent Gilbert Teodoro since June 5, 2023[1][2]
Style	The Honorable
Member of	Cabinet, National Security Council
Reports to	President of the Philippines
Appointer	The president with Commission on Appointments confirmation
Precursor	Secretary of War
Formation	November 1, 1939
First holder	Teófilo Sison
Website	dnd.gov.ph

The current secretary is former Philippine House representative of the Tarlac's 1st congressional district Gilbert Teodoro. He assumed office on June 5, 2023^[1][2] and has previously served the same position from August 2007 to November 2009.

Historically this cabinet position has been a stepping stone to the Philippine presidency. Two previous secretaries of national defense were elected president: Ramon Magsaysay and Fidel Ramos. Several others ran for the presidency: Alejo Santos, Juan Ponce Enrile, Renato de Villa, Norberto Gonzales and Gilbert Teodoro.

Powers and functions

The 1987 Executive Order No. 292 gives the national defense secretary executive supervision of the Armed Forces of the Philippines, the Office of Civil Defense, the Philippine Veterans Affairs Office, the National Defense College of the Philippines, and the Government Arsenal.

Revolutionary Government of the Philippines

Main articles: Republic of Biak-na-Bato, Revolutionary Government of the Philippines (1898–1899), and First Philippine Republic

Prior to the formation of the Department of National Defense in 1935, President Emilio Aguinaldo established the Department of War and Public Works that served similar functions.^[4]

No.	Photo	Name	Term			President
			Took office	Left office	Duration
Secretary of War
1		Emiliano Riego de Dios	March 22, 1897	December 15, 1897	268 days	Emilio Aguinaldo
Secretary of War and Public Works
2		Baldomero Aguinaldo	July 15, 1898	January 2, 1899	171 days	Emilio Aguinaldo
Secretary of War and Public Works
(2)		Baldomero Aguinaldo	January 2, 1899	May 6, 1899	124 days	Emilio Aguinaldo
3		Mariano Trías	May 7, 1899	March 23, 1901	1 year, 320 days	Emilio Aguinaldo

List of national defense secretaries

No.	Portrait	Name	Term			President
			Took office	Left office	Duration
Secretary of National Defense
1		Sison, TeófiloTeófilo Sison	November 1, 1939	July 15, 1941	1 year, 256 days	Manuel Quezon
–		Quezon, Manuel L.Manuel L. Quezon Acting	16 July 1941	11 December 1941	148 days	Himself
–		Vargas, JorgeExecutive Secretary Jorge B. Vargas Acting	December 11, 1941	December 22, 1941	11 days	Manuel Quezon
Secretary of National Defense, Public Works, Communications and Labor
2		Valdes, BasilioBasilio Valdes	December 23, 1941	February 26, 1945	3 years, 65 days	Manuel Quezon Sergio Osmeña
3		Cabili, TomasTomas Cabili	February 27, 1945	July 11, 1945	134 days	Sergio Osmeña
Secretary of National Defense
4		Montelibano, AlfredoAlfredo Montelibano	July 12, 1945	May 27, 1946	319 days	Sergio Osmeña
5		Kangleon, RupertoRuperto Kangleon	May 28, 1946	August 31, 1950	4 years, 95 days	Manuel Roxas Elpidio Quirino
6		Magsaysay, RamonRamon Magsaysay	September 1, 1950	February 28, 1953	2 years, 180 days	Elpidio Quirino
–		Castelo, OscarOscar Castelo Acting	March 1, 1953	December 30, 1953	293 days	Elpidio Quirino
–		Magsaysay, RamonRamon Magsaysay[a] Acting	January 1, 1954	May 14, 1954	133 days	Himself
7		Cabahug, SoteroSotero Cabahug	May 14, 1954	January 2, 1956	1 year, 233 days	Ramon Magsaysay
8		Balao, EulogioEulogio Balao	January 3, 1956	August 28, 1957	1 year, 237 days	Ramon Magsaysay Carlos Garcia
9		Vargas, JesusJesus Vargas	August 28, 1957	May 18, 1959	1 year, 263 days	Carlos Garcia
10		Santos, AlejoAlejo Santos	June 11, 1959	December 30, 1961	2 years, 202 days	Carlos Garcia
11		Peralta, MacarioMacario Peralta	January 1, 1962	December 30, 1965	2 years, 202 days	Diosdado Macapagal
–		Marcos, FerdinandFerdinand Marcos[a] Acting	December 31, 1965	January 20, 1967	5 years, 20 days	Himself
12		Mata, ErnestoErnesto Mata	January 21, 1967	February 3, 1970	3 years, 13 days	Ferdinand Marcos
13		Ponce Enrile, JuanJuan Ponce Enrile	February 9, 1970	August 27, 1971	1 year, 199 days	Ferdinand Marcos
–		Marcos, FerdinandFerdinand Marcos[a] Acting	August 28, 1971	January 3, 1972	128 days	Himself
13		Ponce Enrile, JuanJuan Ponce Enrile	January 4, 1972	January 16, 1973	1 year, 12 days	Ferdinand Marcos
Minister of National Defense
13		Ponce Enrile, JuanJuan Ponce Enrile	January 17, 1973	November 23, 1986	13 years, 310 days	Ferdinand Marcos
14		Ileto, RafaelRafael Ileto	November 23, 1986	February 11, 1987	80 days	Corazon Aquino
Secretary of National Defense
14		Ileto, RafaelRafael Ileto	February 11, 1987	January 21, 1988	344 days	Corazon Aquino
15		Ramos, FidelFidel Ramos	January 22, 1988	July 18, 1991	3 years, 177 days	Corazon Aquino
16		de Villa, RenatoRenato de Villa	July 20, 1991	September 15, 1997	6 years, 57 days	Corazon Aquino Fidel Ramos
17		Abat, FortunatoFortunato Abat	September 16, 1997	June 30, 1998	287 days	Fidel Ramos
18		Mercado, OrlyOrly Mercado	July 1, 1998	Jan 29, 2001	2 years, 212 days	Joseph Estrada
–		Ermita, EduardoEduardo Ermita Acting	Jan 26, 2001	March 19, 2001	52 days	Gloria Macapagal Arroyo
19		Reyes, AngeloAngelo Reyes	March 19, 2001	August 29, 2003	2 years, 163 days	Gloria Macapagal Arroyo
–		Macapagal Arroyo, GloriaGloria Macapagal Arroyo[a] Acting	September 1, 2003	October 2, 2003	31 days	Herself
20		Ermita, EduardoEduardo Ermita	October 3, 2003	August 24, 2004	326 days	Gloria Macapagal Arroyo
21		Cruz, AvelinoAvelino Cruz	August 25, 2004	November 30, 2006	2 years, 97 days	Gloria Macapagal Arroyo
–		Macapagal Arroyo, GloriaGloria Macapagal Arroyo[a] Acting	November 30, 2006	February 1, 2007	63 days	Herself
22		Ebdane, HermogenesHermogenes Ebdane	February 1, 2007	July 2, 2007	151 days	Gloria Macapagal Arroyo
–		Gonzales, NorbertoNorberto Gonzales Acting	July 2, 2007	August 6, 2007	35 days	Gloria Macapagal Arroyo
23		Teodoro, GilbertGilbert Teodoro	August 7, 2007	November 16, 2009	2 years, 101 days	Gloria Macapagal Arroyo
24		Gonzales, NorbertoNorberto Gonzales	November 16, 2009	June 30, 2010	226 days	Gloria Macapagal Arroyo
25		Gazmin, VoltaireVoltaire Gazmin	June 30, 2010	June 30, 2016	6 years, 0 days	Benigno Aquino III
26		Lorenzana, DelfinDelfin Lorenzana	June 30, 2016	June 30, 2022	6 years, 0 days	Rodrigo Duterte
–		Faustino, JoseSenior Undersecretary Jose Faustino Jr. Acting	June 30, 2022	January 9, 2023	193 days	Bongbong Marcos
–		Galvez, CarlitoSenior Undersecretary Carlito Galvez Jr. Acting	January 9, 2023	June 5, 2023	147 days	Bongbong Marcos
23		Teodoro, GilbertGilbert Teodoro	June 5, 2023	Incumbent	2 years, 68 days	Bongbong Marcos

Notes:

1. Served in concurrent capacity as the President.