President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. cannot be blamed for the Philippines' abstention from voting on the resolution calling for a ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas war as he is trying to balance the situation given that the country has a large Muslim population and hardliners who are pro-Israel.

Speaking during an interview over DAILY TRIBUNE's digital show, Straight Talk on Wednesday, seasoned lawyer Ferdinand Topacio said the abstention was the prerogative of the President, being the sole architect of the country's foreign policy.

"Some hardliners who are pro-Israel say that to abstain is to tolerate Hamas. Of course, we really have to understand the situation in the Philippines. We must walk a diplomatic tightrope, as our country has a sizable Islamic population in Mindanao, which even has an autonomous region. It is hard for us to offend them. But I am just conjecturing," he said.

He added: "Iwas-pusoy siguro tayo (Let's avoid it completely), as some of the Muslims we have are agitated by the actions of Israel, the reason why we abstained from taking a side in the General Assembly Resolution."

Earlier, Israeli Ambassador Ilan Fluss expressed his shock over Filipino Muslims rallying behind Hamas, the latest incident when hundreds of Filipino Muslims, carrying Palestine's flag, gathered on  16 October in Cotabato City to protest Israel's bombardment of Gaza in response to the deadly cross-border raids by Hamas last 7 October.

"I am quite shocked and disturbed that there are rallies supporting Hamas, while Hamas is a terror organization that we know murdered four Filipinos. Although I am the Israeli ambassador, this is something internal to the Philippines. But what is disturbing for me is seeing footage of Israeli flags being burned. To see this happening in the Philippines, which has a long history of a close relationship and friendship with Israel, for me, is really disturbing, although it's a democracy," he said.

Topacio believes there was pressure from the United States on the Philippine stand in the General Assembly Resolution.

"I am sure the US exerted diplomatic pressure on us to vote against it because that's what America would like. And I'm sure there was also pressure on us to vote for a humanitarian truce, but it seems it was the sole noble decision of our Chief Executive to abstain. Anyway, there were many countries that abstained. This is a very delicate situation, and, really, there are a lot of countries that are walking on eggshells when it comes to this issue," Topacio said.

A total of 120 countries voted in favor of the resolution calling for a truce in the Hamas-Israel war, with 14 countries voting against, including Israel and the United States, while 45 others abstained, the Philippines among them.

Topacio suggested that the government swiftly safeguard the lives of Filipinos who are in the line of fire in Israel and Gaza.

"The most we can do is to take care of our citizens. In the medium term, what we should be bracing for is a possible astronomical increase in oil prices, as it may become a potential regional conflict. Syria now is being struck by Israel because Syria can be a staging ground for rocket attacks against Israel."

"And Syria is another country, what will happen if Syria reacts? And what if Iran joins in the frame? That's the reason the US has sent its carrier battle group, to deter other Arab nations from intervening in order not to spread the wildfire of this conflict within the region. We don't know what will happen next," Topacio said.

Over the weekend, the Department of Foreign Affairs clarified that the Philippines stands "in solidarity with the global community in calling for swift action to address the scale of human suffering that is affecting populations on both sides.''

In a statement Saturday, the DFA said, "In regard to this Philippine interest, we supported Canada's proposal to achieve more balance in the draft, with a factual reference to and condemnation of the 7 October terrorist attacks by Hamas that killed many innocent civilians, including Filipinos working and living in Israel. Canada's proposal was supported by 88 states, but we regret that it fell short of 8 more votes that would have seen this critical element, which is important to the Philippines as to other countries, reflected in an important UN resolution."

Four Filipinos were killed during the Hamas attack on Israel on 7 October, while two are feared being held hostage by the terror group in Gaza.

On Monday, the UN envoy for Syria Geir Pedersen told the Security Council the Hamas-Israel war spillover into Syria was not just a risk but has already begun.

He said the Syrian people now face "a terrifying prospect of a potential wider escalation" following Hamas' 7 October attack on Israel and the ongoing retaliatory military action, according to a newswire report.

In a separate report by Agence France-Presse on Monday, it said, quoting World Bank chief economist Indermit Gill, that the war between Israel and Hamas could trigger price shocks of raw materials such as oil and agriculture products if the conflict escalates across the Middle East.

"The conflict between Israel and Hamas comes as Russia's war in Ukraine has already put pressure on markets, with that war being "the biggest shock to commodity markets since the 1970s," the report added.

Raffy Ayeng @tribunephl_raf