Marcos urges public not to panic as peso hits record low

MANILA, Philippines — President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on Wednesday urged the public not to panic over the Philippine peso’s continued slide to a record low of 64 to the US dollar, saying the government is doing everything it can to prevent further depreciation.

Marcos’ statement came after the peso breached another record low of 64.17 against the greenback, just eight days after breaking the 63-per-dollar level.

READ: Peso continues freefall, from 63-64:$1 in 8 days

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“Well, first of all, do not take it with alarm. Don’t panic. It is an effect of, really, of still, the rising prices of oil, and subsequently the rising prices of fuel, and its effect on the economy,” said Marcos in a chance interview with reporters in Muntinlupa City.

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According to Marcos, the public can “take solace” in the fact that the government’s policy towards the peso is to “continue to defend the peso as hard as we possibly can.”

“We have all the tools to defend the peso. We have all the means to defend the peso, and with that in mind, we will continue to do all that we can to make sure that the value of the peso does not continue to go down, especially relative to the dollar,” said the President.

“Our foreign exchange reserves are healthy. At diyan tayo kumukuha para depensahan ang peso (and that’s where we draw from to defend the peso), so we will continue to defend the peso,” he added.

Asked how the government will deal with the rising prices of goods, Marcos admitted that monetary measures have their limits, so the government would have to come up with “other ways” to address it.

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He also maintained that the government is already making efforts to lower food prices.

“Because the inflation is coming from the supply side. It’s a supply-side inflation. So monetary measures can only go so far. We have to do other things,” said Marcos.

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“It’s basically—oil we can do nothing about; food, we can. And we are doing, again, everything that we can to make sure that the prices of food come down,” he added. /jpv