President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. urged Filipinos not to panic after the Philippine peso fell to a new record low of ₱64.17 against the US dollar on Oct. 27, citing rising oil prices and the strength of the American currency.
In an ambush interview, Marcos acknowledged the peso’s continued depreciation but assured the public that the government has measures available to defend the local currency.
“First of all, do not take it with alarm. Don’t panic,” Marcos said.
The president said the country’s foreign exchange reserves remain healthy and can be used to support the peso as it continues to weaken against the dollar.
“Our foreign exchange reserves are healthy. And diyan tayo kumukuha para i-defend ang peso. So we will continue to defend the peso,” he said.
Marcos also addressed concerns about rising prices of basic commodities, explaining that inflation is driven by supply-side factors. He said monetary measures alone have limited effectiveness in addressing this type of inflation.
“It’s a supply-side inflation. So monetary, monetary measures can only go so far. We have to do others, other ways,” Marcos said.
The president acknowledged that the Philippines has limited control over international oil prices but said the government continues to work on reducing food prices.
“So 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 said.
The peso’s latest decline marked its fourth consecutive trading day of record-low closing rates, according to the report.
The currency closed at ₱63.52 on Oct. 22, ₱63.615 on Oct. 23 and ₱63.95 before reaching ₱64.17 on Oct. 27.
Marcos reiterated that the government would continue using available measures to defend the peso while addressing pressures on food prices.
