The Philippine mission to the United Nations has voted yes to the UN General Assembly Resolution that condemns Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. This is a strong and principled stand that places our country on the right side of history.
Russia’s president, the strongman Vladimir Putin, last week ordered his troops to invade Ukraine, a move that has shocked the international community. Almost immediately, countries condemned the act and the resulting violence and displacement of the Ukrainian people.
Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, seeks the help of the rest of the world as it struggles to defend itself against its giant neighbor. He has also promised his people that he would not abandon them for any safe haven.
The continued silence among our national officials on the matter, however, is deafening – and alarming.
As of press time, President Duterte is said to be preparing to meet top administration officials to discuss what is happening in Ukraine. The invasion’s effects on the Philippines cannot be good: the conflict displaces our workers there, depriving them and their families a stable source of income. It also almost certainly will raise the price of oil and other goods, dealing a further blow to our COVID-19 pummeled economy and our long-suffering people.
But beyond articulating the consequences pertinent to us and planning how to best address them, we are also looking at our national leaders to take a stand in the very obvious asymmetrical conflict between Russia and Ukraine. The latter is so much smaller in many respects, less influential, and could not afford to match the former’s might. This uneven fight is exploited by Russia – the words and actions of Putin are unmistakable and unequivocal.
In the meantime, ordinary Ukrainians are suffering, completely at the mercy of the Russian forces now marching through their streets, undermining their sovereignty, and taking everything they can.
There is something inherently and manifestly wrong about this.
To stay in the middle and claim neutrality is not really being neutral. It is lending a tacit approval to the injustice and violence committed by one strong country against its smaller, weaker neighbor. To say one is not taking sides is in itself taking sides, because silence allows the continuation of atrocities and emboldens the aggressor.
We hope our leaders can be bold enough and human enough to recognize this is more than geopolitics at stake – it is basic humanity and decency.
