Pres. Duterte calls special Meeting to Discuss the Russia – Ukraine Conflict

Last March 1, President Duterte met with military, police officials, businessmen, and Cabinet members to discuss the Russia-Ukraine crisis.

“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.

Currently, the details of the meeting are unknown as Duterte has designated Cabinet Secretary, Karlo Nograles, as the sole spokesman to discuss the outcome of the meeting.

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

When asked if the meeting ould be aired live, Nograles stated that it would not as the “sensitivity of the topics” would best be kept under wraps.

“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.

Last Monday, the Philippines voted “yes” to a UN General Assembly resolution that explicitly condemned Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Sen. Panfilo Lacson praised Duterte for calling a special meeting with officials and private sector representatives to discuss the current conflict.

“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.

Source: Philstar