A member of the House of Representatives on Thursday said the government should implore the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) to kindly look upon the Philippines and temper any upward pressure on crude oil, specifically Dubai crude.

ACT-CIS party-list Rep. Jocelyn Tulfo made the statement in light of oil prices reaching USD100 a barrel after Russian forces invaded Ukraine.

“DFA (Department of Foreign Affairs) must inform the Filipinos now of the safety and security of Filipinos in Ukraine now that Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is ongoing,” Tulfo said.

She noted that the crude oil the country imports is called Dubai crude and sold at the oil exchange in Singapore.

“Europe consumes more of natural gas than crude oil. Any price increase pressure that might affect us would be indirect and the result of knee-jerk reactions in the world oil markets and financial markets,” she said.

She said the country’s exports to the European Union and even some Eastern European countries would be largely unaffected.

“Looking forward, these developments in Europe should give us some pause to think about our regional security arrangements and bilateral and multilateral relationships,” she said.

She stressed the need to be diligent and tedious in the continuing evaluation of the PH-US Mutual Defense Treaty and Visiting Forces Agreement, as well as the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) security relationships.