‘Many Filipinos are now interested in the involvement of the United States and NATO in Ukraine, and how the US would behave in relation to an ally that has suffered direct military attack.’
AT the March 1 special meeting in Malacañang that President Duterte called to get the consensus of the military, police, Cabinet members and the private sector on the ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict, various ideas emerged as to how the Philippines should deal with this latest crisis in Eastern Europe.
It is safe to say that Duterte, being the chief architect of Philippine foreign policy, has been remiss in his duty of anticipating major international events and upheavals. This Palace meeting is obviously late by several days, and if we base on spokesman Karlo Nograles’ motherhood statements on what have been discussed, the public remains as clueless now as it was last Sunday, when the President said “our citizens for now do not yet have a good grasp of the situation.”
The Palace has seriously called for a cessation of hostilities in Ukraine, saying “we appeal for an immediate end to the unnecessary loss of life and call on the states involved to forge an accord that can help prevent a conflagration that could engulf a world still struggling to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic.”
Nograles also said the nation is one in prayer, together with peace-loving citizens, that the leaders of the warring nations will be guided “by wisdom and a genuine desire to save lives, establish harmony among neighboring nations, and forge a just and lasting peace for humanity.”
Most Filipinos would think that you do not need a top-level meeting to come to the conclusions mentioned above, especially that this late official reaction only came on the heels of the Philippine vote for the United Nations General Assembly resolution condemning Russia for the invasion.
When Russian troops made their move inside Ukraine, the Philippines was initially neutral, as Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana announced, although the Department of Foreign Affairs or the Office of the President should be the one doing the announcement. There was no explanation why suddenly the Philippine delegation to the UN backed the world body’s “explicit condemnation” of President Putin’s action.
The Palace meeting correctly took up the issue of oil prices, which have increased because of the West’s sanctions against Russia and the disruption in supply. The President’s action on oil subsidies to the transport sector is expected. An item to be looked into is probably the price of pan de sal and white bread, because Ukraine is known to produce much of the world’s wheat and grains.
Many Filipinos are now interested in the involvement of the United States and NATO in Ukraine, and how the US would behave in relation to an ally that has suffered direct military attack. It is time to relate the US response in Ukraine to our very own nascent security problems in maritime territories west of Palawan and Zambales.
