MANILA: President Ferdinand Marcos Jr’s defensive stance regarding the highest-ever dollar-peso exchange rate is mere posturing, ACT Teachers party-list Rep. Antonio Tinio (pic) said on Thursday (Oct 29), warning that financial analysts believe the peso will slide further in the coming months.
In a statement, Tinio slammed Marcos for his “Don’t panic” remark, saying it comes as people grapple with the weaker peso’s impact on inflation and the prices of basic goods.
Tinio said the situation seems to be worsening as traders believe the peso-dollar exchange rate could move close to P65 to $1 amid continued market volatility.
“Is he saying don’t panic? It’s mere posturing that his administration is in control of the situation, when analysts say the peso slide will continue up to 2027 and may reach P65 to 66 per dollar,” Tinio said.
“So this means many Filipinos will continue to suffer from high prices of goods,” he added.
According to Tinio, a key indicator that Marcos is not in control is the loss of investor confidence under the current administration, which he believes stems from a lack of industrialization and priority for the agricultural sector.
“A huge factor in the weak peso is the lack of investor confidence under the Marcos administration,” Tinio said.
“But the root of the economic slowdown is the absence of industrialization and a strong agricultural sector. In shorter terms, it is due to the administration’s sloppy job in managing the economy,” he added.
Marcos, in an ambush interview with reporters during his visit to the New Bilibid Prison on Wednesday, urged the public not to panic over the Philippine peso’s continued slide to a record low of P64 to USD 1, as the government is doing everything it can to prevent further depreciation.
The President’s statement came after the peso breached another record low of P64.17 against $1, just eight days after breaking the 63-per-dollar level.
“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,” Marcos said.
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.”
Asked how the government will deal with rising prices of goods, Marcos admitted that monetary measures have their limits, so the government would have to find “other ways” to address it.
However, progressive group Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (Bayan) said Marcos’ statements show that he has no plan to address the worsening crisis.
“‘Don’t panic’ is a privileged statement from someone who does not have to deal with rising prices and high interest rates,” Bayan president Renato Reyes Jr said in a statement. - Philippine Daily Inquirer/ANN
