The Philippines and other countries should be on the alert and to observe the possible conflicts in different regions that may arise while the whole world is focused on the armed hostilities between Russia and Ukraine.

Senatorial candidate Gilbert “Gibo” Teodoro made the appeal in an interview on Monday, saying the Philippine government should keep an eye on this kind of geopolitical tension as the Russian-Ukraine war could spill over across the world.

“Ito’y (Russian-Ukraine war) magdudulot ng tension worldwide kaya marami tayong dapat bantayan na mga hotspots. Kailangang dapat palagi rin tayong maging handa sa – (let’s say) sa Middle East, baka may kaguluhan din doon, ‘di natin alam, (This could cause tension worldwide so we need to guard hotspots. We also need to be prepared, let’s say in the Middle east, we do not know),” Teodoro said in an interview over DZRH radio.

“So lagi tayong handa dapat (So we need to be prepared always) for repatriation, for amelioration,” the former Tarlac representative said.

With the ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine entering its third week, Teodoro said he believes the end of this conflict is still remote.

“Talagang ang malalaking mga bansa, sa panig ng Russia, wala siyang pakialam sa kung anong mangyari doon sa mga maliliit na bansa na maapektuhan ng kanilang gawain (Bigger countries, like Russia, really does not care what happens to smaller countries that could be affected by what they do),” he said.

“On the other hand, ‘yong mga sanctions na ipinataw ng malalaking bansa na nagdudulot din ng malaking price increases at kahirapan, wala rin silang pakialam (sa maliliit na bansa) (the sanctions imposed by equally powerful nations and which is causing huge price increases and poverty, also does not care what happens to developing countries),” the former defense secretary said.

“Ang leksiyon nito sa ating mga kababayan sa larangan ng usapang panlabas, kanya-kanya ito sa mundo, kanya-kanyang interes ang dapat uunahin (The lesson here for our people is that, when it comes to foreign issues, to each his own, we have our own interests that we need to prioritize),” Teodoro said.