Former Interior and Local Government Secretary Eduardo Ano is the new National Security Adviser after Clarita Carlos resigned, the Presidential Communications Office (PCO) said Saturday.

The 61-year-old Ano, a former chief of staff of the Armed Forces of the Philippines, took his oath of office before President Ferdinand Marcos Jr on Saturday.

Ano presided over the AFP's battle against the Abu Sayyaf and Maute terrorist groups in the battle to regain control of Marawi City in 2017.

President Rodrigo Duterte appointed Ano as officer-in-charge of the Department of Interior and Local Governor in January 2018 and was named secretary in November.

Ano, as Interior and Local Government Secretary, was also part of the Inter-Agency Task Force against Emerging Infectious Disease which was convened on March 2020 to cope with the COVID-19 pandemic.

Ano is the second member of the Duterte Cabinet who was appointed by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. Earlier appointed was Presidential Peace Adviser Carlito Galvez Jr as Defense Secretary.

The PCO said Carlos, a former head of the National Defense College of the Philippines, ''decided to continue her pursuit of scholastic endeavors as she joins the Congressional Policy and Budget Research Department of the House of Representatives.''

In her statement, Carlos said she ''realized that it is no longer politic to continue as NSA to the President and so, I decided to migrate to another agency where my expertise on foreign, defense and security policy will be of use and I shall continue to help build a better Philippines.'' DMS