Duterte meets AFP, PNP, business groups over Ukraine crisis

MANILA, Philippines — President Duterte met yesterday with ranking military and police officials as well as with some Cabinet members and businessmen to discuss the Russia-Ukraine crisis.

The President announced Monday night his intention to call for a “special meeting” with military and police officials, citing the urgency of the situation spawned by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

“I will be calling for a special meeting. We will discuss what is evolving or what’s happening in Europe. I want you to listen to how important it is that we know all this is happening right now,” Duterte said during his taped public address aired Monday night.

“I’ll be meeting the police, the military and the businessmen for you to understand… it will be a combination of the military, the police and the civilian plus the Cabinet,” he said.

“The invitation is for all so that we can have an exchange of ideas between the military and police on one hand, and the businessmen so that we can come up with a sensible front of how to handle this thing,” the President said.

Details of the meeting were not immediately known. Duterte has designated Cabinet Secretary and acting presidential spokesman Karlo Nograles as the “sole spokesman” to discuss the outcome of the meeting.

“My friends, this is important so watch out for its outcome… sort of you have not yet had a good grasp on the situation,” he said.

At his regular press briefing earlier yesterday, Nograles said ranking officials of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) and the Philippine National Police (PNP) and select Cabinet officials were invited to the meeting.

Asked whether the meeting would be aired live, Nograles cited the “sensitivity of the topics” to be discussed and their implications on national security.

“But in any case, at the end of the meeting we will issue a statement to apprise the people. What’s important here is, the instructions really of the President is to make sure that the Filipino people, our nation, our countrymen are fully and well aware of the situation, what is going on in Europe, primarily on the situation in Ukraine; what is its implication on our country, our fellow citizens and our economy,” he said.

“And we have to keep the Filipinos abreast of any and all developments pertaining to the situation in Ukraine and in Europe in general. And let us pray that the world leaders will all find avenues for peace,” he said.

The Philippines on Monday voted “yes” to a United Nations General Assembly resolution explicitly condemning Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Sen. Panfilo Lacson welcomed President Duterte’s calling for a special meeting with officials and private sector representatives to discuss the Russia-Ukraine situation.

“Let’s not think that it is far from us and has no effect on us,” Lacson told reporters in Candelaria, Quezon province, citing the steady rise in the prices of fuel and basic goods.

Lacson, who chairs the Senate committee on national defense, is running for president.

Last resort

In the light of the response of some countries to Russia’s aggression, the Philippines’ permanent representative to the UN said any sanction should be imposed only as a “last resort” or when there exists a threat to international peace or actual aggression.

Ambassador Enrique Manalo also highlighted the continuing relevance of the Manila Declaration to Peaceful Settlement of Disputes at the annual session of the Special Committee of the Charter of the United Nations until March 2.

“One of the Special Committee’s most important achievements is the Manila Declaration on the Peaceful Settlement of International Disputes,” Manalo said.

Rep. Ruffy Biazon said the Philippines made a move in the right direction when it voted in the UN General Assembly for the cessation of hostilities in Ukraine to prevent further loss of lives and infrastructure.

“They are, after all, not just for the Ukrainians but for humanity as well. The Philippines should stand by its commitment to the UN in upholding the sovereignty of States as well as their political independence and territorial integrity,” Biazon said.

“We must remember that the Philippines may someday avail of the support or assistance of the community of nations if we fall victim to territorial aggression by other countries,” the lone Muntinlupa congressman added.

Party-list group You Against Corruption and Poverty (Yacap) called on the general public to prepare for the worst impact on the country of Russia’s invasion of its former satellite state Ukraine.

“This war can make the poor poorer and the government needs to immediately conduct an IEC – information, education and communication – campaign to prepare Filipinos so we won’t be caught by surprise,” Yacap first nominee and Taguig councilor Noel Dizon said.

“There is no better protection than to be aware of an imminent problem no matter how confusing it is to most because it’s a war,” he added. “We should not be caught by surprise, especially for those already struggling with poverty due to the pandemic.”

Yacap also warned that any disruption in the financial system of a country as big as Russia would definitely impact heavily on the day-to-day lives of people across the globe.

“World leaders are propping for the uncertainties this war will bring, but many agree the worst is yet to come and the individual Filipino should be made aware so that everybody will be prepared,” Dizon said.

Bring them home

Senators, for their part, are calling on the government to work harder in bringing home Filipinos still in Ukraine.

Sen. Imee Marcos said it was “imperative” for all Filipinos in Ukraine to leave at once after the European Union (EU) decided to arm the beleaguered nation’s army.

“Evacuation plans must immediately be put in place for our OFWs, not just in Ukraine and Russia, but also in nearby Belarus, Poland, Slovakia, Hungary, Romania and Moldova. The travel of Filipinos to these areas must also be stopped,” Marcos said.

“If the war escalates on the ground, the Philippines will not be the only country arranging for the safe passage of its citizens. So, let’s not procrastinate,” the senator added.

Marcos said events unfolding in the next few days will determine if fears of a Third World War will ease, as the United Nations Security Council convenes, the delivery of EU-funded weaponry is arranged and Russia-Ukraine peace talks begin.

Sen. Joel Villanueva urged the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) to prepare to make the evacuation of OFWs from Ukraine mandatory.

“From the first day of Russia’s entry into Ukraine, we must have prepared and ordered the mandatory evacuation of our OFWs in areas of conflict. We can still recover their livelihood, so their lives are our first rescue, ” Villanueva said.

Villanueva added that the priority is to evacuate OFWs to safe neighboring countries such as Poland, where Philippine embassy personnel are waiting to receive them and send them home. He also thanked the DFA and DOLE for their immediate action.

“We need a clearer protocol on when the evacuation of OFWs in an area of conflict should be made mandatory. Isn’t the country being bombed enough to make the evacuation of OFWs mandatory?”

Villanueva, the sponsor and author of the law establishing the Department of Migrant Workers, also said he understands the reluctance of OFWs to return home due to the lack of jobs in the Philippines.

“This is what we are fighting for today for our OFWs: to look after their welfare, while also giving them a better opportunity to work in their homeland,” Villanueva said.

He said the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration should provide immediate help to returning Filipinos including psychosocial assistance to address their trauma.

They should also be subjected to the agency’s reintegration programs even while they are still in the evacuation center so that they can easily find work when repatriated to the Philippines.

“We still believe that one day, with the help of the Department of Migrant Workers, Filipinos will no longer be forced to venture abroad just to feed their families. For now, let us give all the help we can for our OFWs in Ukraine,” Villanueva added.

Meanwhile, 13 Filipino evacuees from Ukraine were scheduled to arrive in Manila last night, the DFA said.

They were part of the 40 evacuees who traveled to Lviv, a Ukrainian city near the Polish border, to cross to Poland.

Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin, Jr. welcomed them at the Polish border. The Philippine embassy in Warsaw facilitated their travel and flight documents. — Delon Porcalla, Rudy Santos, Pia Lee-Brago