By Christina Mendez
MANILA, Philippines - President Duterte renounced war as a means to settle disputes among nations as he renewed the country’s alliance with the United States and Japan during commemoration of the Day of Valor and Veterans’ Week yesterday.
Leading the rites at the Mt. Samat National Shrine in Pilar, Bataan for the first time as President, Duterte said “paid (for) in blood, the painful lessons of war behoove all of us in the community of nations to work for peace and development.”
“No matter the spoils, war is never worth it. The reasons of aggression against the occupation of nations should not be countenanced. This is why the Philippines continues to articulate our principled position that disputes should be settled in a peaceful manner,” Duterte said.
“This is a responsibility of all states – great or small, strong or weak. As responsible members of the international community, this is our sacred duty,” he added.
Duterte said this is also the reason the Philippines is the strongest advocate of positive transformation of relations.
“As we fought together to stave off the enemy then, so should we help each other to address the threats that confront our societies, our region and our world,” Duterte said.
“To be sure, there will be difficulties. Where before the lines of duties were clearly drawn, now the menace of terrorism, violent extremism and transnational crimes – such as the illegal drug trade – have called into question efforts to uphold the responsibility to defend the interests of the common good,” the President said. “We know where we stand. We know what we should do. We will be undeterred in our efforts to secure for the citizens the future they deserve based on the mandate reposed on us by laws.”
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