Imee Marcos warns Phl risk attacks from Hamas for being US ally

Senator Imee Marcos on Wednesday cautioned the Philippine government about the risks that the country may confront amid being an ally of the United States, which openly supports Israel.

Marcos said the Philippines' distance from the conflict-affected Israel will not protect the country against security threats brought about by Palestinian militant group, Hamas.

"Our distance from the main arena of conflict will not insulate us from violence," Marcos, who chairs the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, said in a statement.

"As an ally of the United States, which has committed military support to Israel, we risk retaliatory attacks from militant Hamas sympathizers that a protracted war will likely provoke," she added.

The senator insisted that Marcos administration should carefully weigh in on the situation saying the Israel-Hamas conflict "is not just days-old but centuries-deep."

"The struggles of the Israeli and Palestinian peoples deserve equal regard and are beyond the simplistic narrative of good versus evil," she pointed out.

Marcos said the current situation in Israel "will be another drawn-out war of global proportions, with no certainty of prompt and peaceful resolution."

Hence, she said the foreign policy position that the government should "take today will have long-term consequences."

The primary concern should be the safety of nearly 25,000 overseas Filipino workers, she added.

Marcos said it is imperative for the government to secure "many Filipino tourists and pilgrims are now in Israel and of more than two million Filipinos throughout the Middle East and North Africa who may continue earning a living there in years to come."

"We import practically all of our oil supply from the Middle East," the lawmaker added.

Despite the recent assurance of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries to support market stability, Marcos said the Philippines "remains vulnerable to the winds of geopolitics."

Also, Marcos sees the government as having "a long, complex and arduous task ahead" as the armed conflict in Israel escalates.

"May its foreign policy decisions truly uphold Filipino interests now and in the future, informed by a keen sense of current events and the lessons of history," she said.