President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has vowed to use the government’s available foreign exchange reserves and policy tools to defend the peso against further depreciation, while acknowledging that surging oil prices and supply-side constraints continue to fuel inflation.
“We don’t panic,” Marcos said, expressing confidence in the administration’s capacity to manage currency pressures amid a stronger US dollar and elevated global oil prices.
“We have all the tools to defend the peso. We have all the means to defend the peso,” he said.
Marcos pointed to the country’s foreign exchange reserves as a key resource for supporting the currency, saying the government could draw on these holdings to help stabilize the peso.
“Our foreign exchange reserves are healthy and diyan tayo kumukuha para i-defend sa peso,” he said.
However, the President’s remarks also highlighted the limits of relying on monetary policy alone to contain rising consumer prices, particularly when inflation stems from external cost pressures and domestic supply constraints.
“It’s a supply-side inflation. So monetary measures can only go so far. We have to do others, other ways,” Marcos said.
Petroleum prices remain a significant concern for the Philippines, which relies heavily on imported oil and has limited influence over international energy markets. Higher fuel costs can also feed into transport, logistics and production expenses, putting additional pressure on household budgets and businesses.
Food prices present a different challenge, offering the government more direct avenues for intervention through measures aimed at improving domestic supply and easing distribution bottlenecks.
“Food we can, and we are doing, again, everything that we can to make sure that the prices of food comes down,” Marcos said.
The administration’s approach therefore points to a two-track response: using available financial and policy instruments to address currency weakness while pursuing measures to ease domestic price pressures.
Still, the effectiveness of these efforts will depend partly on developments beyond the government’s control, including global oil prices and movements in the US dollar. On the domestic front, sustained relief for consumers will hinge on whether food supply interventions translate into lower retail prices.
The challenge is to limit imported inflation while addressing local cost pressures without placing undue strain on economic activity.
