Malacañang on Thursday reassured the public that the government has taken steps to strengthen and support the peso, which had surpassed P64 to $1 this week, including sustaining the growth and strength of the economy.
Palace Press Officer Claire Castro, in a briefing in Bukidnon, said as the country’s economy grows stronger, the higher the value of the peso becomes.
“Ang tinutukan po ngayon ng Pangulo para po mas gumanda pa iyong ekonomiya natin. ‘Pag gumanda iyong ekonomiya natin syempre mas tataas din po iyong value ng piso,” Castro said.
“Although hindi ganoon kabilis pero mararamdaman po natin kung ano ang epekto nito sa ating mga kababayan,” Castro also said.
Castro said among the measures pushed by the administration is the increase in exports, the promotion and strengthening of the tourism industry, ensuring peace and order to attract tourists and investors, the further easing of doing business, and eliminating red tape to attract more businesses and investors.
She said all these would help strengthen the economy and eventually defend and make the peso stronger.
President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. the other day said the Filipinos should not be alarmed, assuring the public that the national government has the means to defend the peso and lessen, if not prevent, its depreciation.
Castro also rejected the claims of some critics, including the observance of the Ibon Foundation, that the pronouncement of the President for the public not to panic or be alarmed over the P64 to $1 exchange rate only added to the panic and concerns of Filipinos especially if they do not see enough or concrete action from government.
Castro said it is “fake news” to say that the Marcos administration had done nothing.
She said critics may want to check the news reports, not just from the state media, but even private networks to be informed of the President’s actions and activities instead of appearing to be clueless.
She also denied that the national government is a “failure,” citing recent inauguration of solar-powered irrigation pumps in Cagayan and Ifugao to assist the agricultural sector, and the implementation of cash aids, fare and fuel discounts, and toll fees to assist the transportation sectors and commuters under the Unified Package for Livelihoods, Industry, Food, and Transport (UPLIFT), among others.