Marcos 'cautiously optimistic' on US-Iran ceasefire
MANILA, Philippines — President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. welcomed the United States-Iran ceasefire and the planned reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, but expressed concern on the possibility the deal could fall apart like past peace efforts in the region.
Marcos made the remarks at a joint news conference with German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier at Malacañang, on the second day of Steinmeier's state visit.
Both leaders said they hoped the agreement — which US President Donald Trump said both sides signed yesterday — would end the fighting and bring down fuel prices that have risen sharply since the war began.
Marcos stressed the impact of the conflict on the Philippine economy but warned even with the ceasefire, the country would still feel the effect for some time.
"We are always cautiously optimistic. We have unfortunately heard these proclamations before, and they have not come true," Marcos said.
"But we're hoping that this one is the one that will come true," he added.
Trump said yesterday after arriving in France that the agreement, which has been "all signed," would extend a ceasefire by another 60 days and reopen the Strait of Hormuz.
Marcos called the deal "some of the best news that we could hope for if indeed it comes to fruition."
If it holds, he said, the Philippines could "once again bring our economies to a normal state and be able to support our people properly, and without suffering the vagaries of price rises that come with such a petroleum crisis."
"Because of the enormity of the problem, of the instability that this war has caused, it's inevitable that it will take some time for us to adjust back to what will be the new normal," he said.
Steinmeier said they both hope there is an actual agreement and not just the signing of a document.
"This is not about abstract figures or not only about abstract economic figures with regard to the Strait of Hormuz, it is the lives of hundreds of thousands of people that are affected, the food prices, the prices of fertilizers, reduced harvest in the coming years as a consequence of that," Steinmeier said.
Both leaders said they hoped the ceasefire would open the way to peace talks in the region.
First visit since 1963. Steinmeier's visit, from June 15 to 17, is the first by a German head of state to the Philippines since then-President Heinrich Lübke came to Manila in 1963.
He met Marcos on Tuesday for a bilateral meeting covering defense, peacebuilding, maritime cooperation, trade and investment, climate change, renewable energy and people-to-people exchanges.
Tentative deal. The agreement signed by the US and Iran extends a Pakistan-mediated ceasefire that has held since April 8 and is meant to bring the war to a formal end within 60 days, with a memorandum of understanding set to be signed on June 19.
The conflict began on February 28, when the United States and Israel launched strikes on Iran. Iran responded with missile and drone attacks on Israel, US bases and US-allied countries in the Middle East, and by closing the Strait of Hormuz to shipping.
The Philippines, which imports more than 90 percent of its crude oil and is heavily dependent on shipments through Hormuz, was among the hardest hit.
Gasoline prices jumped by at least 50% in the first three weeks of the war.
Marcos declared a national energy emergency on March 24.
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