A staunch advocate of political reform, Carlos is a political commentator and resource person on various issues ranging from domestic and global politics, political dynamics, geopolitics, international relations, defense and security, and foreign policy. She is a Member-at-Large of the National Research Council of the Philippines.
National Security Adviser ,
Quezon City on July 15, 2022 Carlos assumed her position as National Security Adviser on June 30, 2022. She is the first female and third civilian to hold the position since 1986. Carlos, upon assuming office, has expressed opposition to the use of "
red-tagging," or the practice of alleging government critics and activists as communist terrorists, calling it "counterproductive," and preferring a more humane approach in dealing with the
communist insurgency in the Philippines by focusing on the "roots of insurgency". The
National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC), established during the previous administration and where Carlos also serves as vice-chair as part of her mandate, has been criticized for allegedly engaging in such practices. Carlos resigned from the position on January 14, 2023, to join the Congressional Policy and Budget Research Department (CPBRD) of the
House of Representatives. She was replaced by former
Interior and Local Government Secretary Eduardo Año.
Consultancy Since 1993, Carlos is the executive director of StratSearch Foundation, Inc., a public policy think tank. She is also the executive director of Asia Pacific Institute of Climate Change Mitigation and Adaptation, Inc. She has also served as consultant in the Philippine
Senate and
House of Representatives,
Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process, and
Department of Transportation. ==Selected works==