A former central bank official is getting jittery as her assessment of an economy that is starting to feel the effects of the nation’s crisis in confidence is going viral online.

“The interview has gone viral and has surprisingly reached my relatives in the US,” she said in a social media post.

The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas alumnae caused a commotion by claiming that the stock market had dropped dramatically, citing figures that the Philippine Stock Exchange disputed. Still, she maintained that her numbers were correct.

“Please pray for my protection. We know how the incumbent can spin the narrative while doing a (demolition) job on anyone who disagrees with theirs,” she implored.

Her only intent in giving the interview was to bring out the story behind the economic numbers that were being ignored and hidden. 

“I don’t want our country to reach debt crisis levels again,” she said.

She recalled how Filipinos fell into hardship in the 1980s, “a crisis that lasted for two decades before it was resolved, largely because of the sacrifices of our overseas Filipino workers.” 

They were a major reason our international reserves grew, allowing the country to pay off the dollar debts owed to foreign banks that were transferred to the IMF.

What the former official was referring to was the regime of President Ferdinand Marcos Sr.  

“They (OFWs) were separated from their families just to earn a living,” she said.

It is indeed eerie that the country has returned to the period once thought to have ended with the 1986 revolt.