The Philippines is "more than prepared" to accept refugees from Ukraine should the ongoing armed conflict in Eastern Europe escalate further, Communication Secretary Martin Andanar said.
Andanar made the statement after the Philippine Ambassador to the United States of America Jose Manuel "Babes" Romualdez said President Duterte has supposedly allowed American troops to use the country's facilities.
In an interview with CNN Philippines, Andanar said that while he was not privy to the conversation between Duterte and Romualdez, he was sure that the President was ready to accept Ukrainians in the country.
"Judging in what the President mentioned just a few days ago that the Philippines is ready to receive victims of the war in Ukraine, just as President Quezon did with the Israelis back in the day," he said.
The acting Palace spokesman said that the Philippines is prepared to receive Ukrainian refugees should such an event happen.
"I think we are more than prepared, prepared more than ever," he said.
"We have done this in the past; we are a country that’s battered by typhoons more than twenty times a year," he added.
Aside from evacuation centers, Andanar said the country could use Covid-19 quarantine facilities to house the refugees.
"We just had the COVID-19 lockdowns; we have all the facilities that can be used as temporary refugee camps," he said.
Last week, President Duterte said the Philippines is neutral in the Ukraine-Russia conflict but said reality would push the country to pick a side someday.
He, however, hoped that no country involved in the conflict would resort to using nuclear warheads as this would affect not just Europe but the entire world.