PH Congress Will not Fund PH-Russia Oil Deal, but Not Due to Russia’s Invasion of Ukraine

According to a congressman, the lower house will not fund the proposed Philippine-Russia oil deal, but unlike other countries, the Philippines will not fund the deal due to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

According to Surigao del Sur Rep. Johnny Pimentel, who chairs the House strategic intelligence committee, they ruled out the Purchasing of the Philippines of crude oil from Russia since the Philippines has no capacity to directly import and refine crude oil whether from Russia or from other countries.

“We certainly can’t refine it because the government does not own a refinery, and storage alone will cost us money,” Pimentel said in a statement.

However, the lawmaker said that should the Philippine government purchase crude oil from the Ukraine invader, the deal should include Petron Corporation (Petron) in the negotiation with regards to the crude oil’s compatibility with Petron’s refinery.

Pimentel added that Russia should offer crude oil to Petron and not to the government.

“If the Russians want to sell their oil, they should make the offer to Petron Corp., not to the Philippine government,” Pimentel said.

The lawmaker also revealed that Philippine companies are not banned from doing business with Moscow, despite the Philippines being against Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which is now on its 121st day.

“Despite the Philippine government’s position against the invasion of Ukraine, Filipino companies have not been banned from engaging in business with Russia or with Russian entities,” Pimentel added.

141 countries, including the Philippines, voted in favor of a United Nations (UN) resolution which condemns Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

The Philippines did not condemn Russia directly, however, choosing its wording carefully in the country’s statement in the UN General Assembly on February 28.

The Philippines condemned mainly the “invasion of Ukraine,” but made no mention of Russia.

“Mr. President, the Philippines votes Yes to the UNGA resolution and expresses explicit condemnation of the invasion of Ukraine,” the Philippines said.

“We especially condemn the use of separatism and secession as a weapon of diplomacy for inviting and inflicting terrible cruelties and indiscriminate killings far in excess of that of any other kind of conflict,” the Philippines said.

The Philippines urged the parties involved to resort to the 1982 Manila Declaration on the Peaceful Settlement of International Disputes.

“We strongly urge resort to the 1982 Manila Declaration on the Peaceful Settlement of International Disputes. It will at least halt the ongoing tragedy for a while,” the Philippines added.

However, President Rodrigo Duterte slammed Russian President Vladimir Putin in his “Talk to the People” taped on May 24, saying that while both of them have been dubbed as “killers,” he only kills criminals.

“I kill criminals, I don’t kill children and the elderly,” Duterte said.

The president also called the invasion of Ukraine a full-scale war, instead of calling it a “special military operation,” as Putin calls it.

It was the first time Duterte openly rebuked his ally, which he openly called an idol and a friend on multiple occasions in the past. (GFB)