Marcos says 'don't panic' amid weakening peso

President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. on Wednesday allayed concerns as the Philippine peso hit a new historic low, breaching the P64:$1 level.

“Well, first of all, do not take it with alarm. Don't panic,” Marcos said in an ambush interview at the New Bilibid Prison in Muntinlupa City for the observance of the 32nd National Correctional Consciousness Week.

The President said that his government is trying to defend the peso “as hard as we possibly can.”

“People can take solace in the fact that our 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,” Marcos said.

“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. The dollar is also becoming very strong. But nevertheless, we have the means, as I say,” he added.

The local currency sank to an intraday low of P64.18:$1, weaker than the 33rd record low of P64.17:$1 seen during Tuesday’s closing.

The local unit’s weakness came amid the continuous spike in global crude oil prices due to the Middle East crisis.

Marcos also attributed the peso’s weakness to rising oil and fuel prices.

Regardless, the President assured the public that the country’s foreign exchange reserves remain “healthy.”

“Diyan tayo kumukuha para i-defend ‘yung peso (We are using that to defend the peso). So we will continue to defend the peso,” he said.

The President likewise committed to addressing the looming surge in the prices of food.

“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 ways,” he said.

“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.

A weaker peso could lead to a higher oil import bill for the country, as well as widen the country’s trade deficit/net imports, current account deficit, and balance of payments (BOP) deficit, according to Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. chief economist Michael Ricafort. —AOL, GMA News