EDITORIAL - Did the architect miss the meeting?

In what can actually be seen as a turnaround, President Rodrigo Duterte suddenly said the country will be neutral to the war happening in Ukraine following the Russian invasion.

This just days after the Philippines expressed support for a resolution at the United Nations General Assembly for Russia to withdraw from Ukraine, in effect officially condemning the invasion.

“Ako naman, we stay neutral. But reality tells me that in the end, we’ll just have to select which side we will be. Bahala na ‘yung magpatayan sila doon, huwag lang maggamit ng nuclear device because talo na tayong lahat. Pati tayo damay,” the president said during a speech in Ilocos Norte recently.

Of course, this raised eyebrows. Was he merely speaking for himself? Was he not aware that the Philippine government had already issued a statement of support for that UN resolution?

Again, we are not really one of those countries that will make much of a difference in what is happening in Europe and how it will impact the rest of the world. But still, the sudden shift seems to be confusing many people as to where the country really stands.

It is also not good for the chief executive to issue statements that are literally contrary to what has been released as the official government policy or stand on a particular issue. It not only causes confusion among people; it erodes the credibility of the government agencies and also our reputation in the international brotherhood of nations.

Let’s keep an eye out for this issue though, President Duterte sometimes say things only to take it back later.

The president has already declared himself the sole architect of foreign policy of the country. And because the role does belong to him as president, we have to follow him, right or wrong.

But after that statement we have to wonder just how many meetings this architect missed, as he seemed unaware of the final design of the house that has been built.