As the value of peso continues to be on the decline, Senate Minority Leader Ralph Recto fears that the President’s words may be one of its reasons and asks Duterte to be more careful with his statements for these may negatively impact the economy.
According to analysts, the peso plunging to a 7-year low against the US dollar at P48.25 – $1 is partly caused by the political issues surrounding the country, causing investors to pull out their money.
Similar to Senator Bam Aquino’s resolution, Recto stresses the necessity of providing a clear stance on foreign policy, extrajudicial killings, the declaration of a state of lawlessness, to name but a few. He insists that the administration should take on more certain positions on government policies; most particularly, due to the inconsistencies the President has stated regarding national and foreign affairs with the United States, United Nations, China and Russia.
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The senator suggests for the President to treat allies equally and favorably to avoid discouraging other Western investors. He further states that maintaining good relations with the US and China is possible and that it does not have “to be one or the other.”
While the weakening of the peso may also be a result of the probable increase in interest rates of the US Federal Reserve, the Senator believes that Duterte’s comments aggravate the situation. Aside from scaring investors from the country, tourism may also be affected as various international news outlets have reported on the Philippines’ state of lawlessness and series of extrajudicial killings.
Although the President claimed that his mouth “cannot bring down a country”, it seems that Senator Recto thought otherwise.
Source: (rappler.com)
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