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President Ferdinand Marcos Jr said the country may have to buy fuel and fertilizers from Russia and feed wheat plus corn from Ukraine, two countries which have been locked in conflict since February.

This would require a ''very balanced view'', said Marcos before the Manila Overseas Press Club on Wednesday night.

''We take a very balanced view because the truth of the matter if we may have to deal with Russia for fuel, for fertilizer. We have to deal-- find a way to deal with Ukraine for our feed wheat, our corn importation-- all of these things-- our livestock importation,'' said Marcos.

The Philippines reported on Wednesday that inflation for September was at 6.9 percent, the highest in nearly four years.

Marcos said that ''maybe'' in the first 60 days of his administration, ''we wete putting out fires.

''We were just trying to make things work because suddenly the problem--you're all aware, the problem with sugar supply, the problem with fertilizer. We were having to look to different-- what we now refer to as non-traditional sources,'' said Marcos.

Marcos said the ''interconnectivity'' of the global economy was brought home in a very convincing war by the war in Ukraine.

''Even in the UN, I would talk to the other leaders and I say 'Who would have thought that the war in Eastern Europe would affect the Philippines halfway around the world in the gut-- in the food supply, fertilizer prices, seedling prices, fuel?,'' said Marcos.

''You never imagine that such a thing would happen but here it is and here we are,'' he said.

Marcos said he has ''already made it clear where the Philippines stands in all of this.''

''I said that essentially we are driven by our desire for peace. And all the economic development that we plan and all that we hope to do will come to naught unless there is peace,'' he said. DMS