Duterte: Americans undermining us, manipulating peso depreciation

President Rodrigo Duterte believes that the United States is undermining the Philippines, pointing to the recent dip of the Philippine peso as proof.

Speaking before the Marines in Taguig on Tuesday, Duterte went on another tirade against the US.

"Ina-undermine tayo ng mga Amerikano ngayon. They are manipulating na ang peso raw ay bumababa," Duterte said.

"Kinakaya-kaya kasi tayo ng mga Amerikano. Binabastos na ba. There is always China and I talked to [Russia Prime Minister Dmitry] Medvedev doon sa... Kapag inipit nila ako, I will have alliances pero hindi tayo makaalis. We have RP-US pact eh. New alliances of commerce and trade," he added.

The Philippines and the US are treaty allies, having signed a mutual defense treaty in 1951 and a visiting forces agreement in 1998. The US is also the Philippines' biggest foreign investor and the country's second biggest export market next to Japan.

But the relationship has been frayed under Duterte, who has bristled at criticism about the rising death toll of his administration's drug war from the US and other institutions such as the United Nations and the European Union. He has repeatedly expressed his desire to rid Mindanao of American troops supposedly to pursue peace talks, while declaring earlier this month that he wanted to stop joint patrols with the US in the South China Sea amid a maritime dispute with Beijing.

On Monday, he said that he is about to "cross the Rubicon" in his relationship with the US. Foreign Affairs Secretary Perfecto Yasay, however, downplayed Duterte's statement.

Credit rating agency Standard & Poor's (S&P) Global Ratings last week said an upgrade for the Philippines was unlikely because of investor concern over the political climate.

Duterte responded by daring investors to get out since he was ready to make deals with China and Russia.

Seven year low

Analysts have pointed to Duterte's tirades as a possible cause of investor jitters leading to the dip in the peso, which is trading at seven-year-low levels.

But Budget Secretary Benjamin Diokno pointed to the strengthening of the US dollar as the cause of the peso's plunge, saying global markets expect an increase in the interest rates of the US Federal Reserve.

"The depreciation of [the] peso, as far as I'm concerned, is no cause for concern," Diokno said. —JST, GMA News