MANILA, Philippines -- Department of Energy (DOE) Secretary Angelo Reyes yesterday called upon concerned private and public sector groups to help in fashioning "creative solutions" to the energy crisis highlighted by the high price of oil that recently peaked at $100 per barrel.

In his address opening the 2008 Philippine Energy Summit held at the SMX Convention Center, Reyes said there is need to "significantly reduce our dependence on imported fossil fuels in the medium and long term, while cushioning the immediate impact of high oil prices on vulnerable sectors and the citizenry at large."

Reyes said that confronting the crisis "will require a whole slew of strategic interventions in the management of energy supply and demand ?. We would need the cooperation of all stakeholders in thinking through the issues and in fashioning creative solutions."

The DOE secretary said he hoped that the Energy Summit "will usher in a new era of constructive engagement among national agencies, the private sector, civil society, local government units and communities in addressing our energy concerns. The issues that confront us are far too big and complex to be addressed solely through a grand gathering of stakeholders.

"What we hope to achieve is a broad consensus on a priority response agenda -- in terms of recommended policies, laws and programs in the immediate, short-, medium-, and long-term horizon -- that could strategically reduce our vulnerability to the impact of high oil prices," he said.

The DOE secretary said the summit was being convened "in a positive, inclusive and solutions-oriented spirit,? and not a venue for finger-pointing but consensus-building.