The country’s major manufacturers under the Federation of Philippine Industries (FPI) say they are not surprised about the peso falling to P60 because of the conflict going on in the Middle East.

“That is expected. But I am sure that the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas is doing what needs to be done to mitigate things. Of course, if there is a war going on, people flock to the dollar,” said Elizabeth Lee, chairperson of the Federation of Philippine Industries, the country’s largest umbrella organization of manufacturing and industry associations, representing a wide spectrum of sectors, including steel, cement, automotive, petrochemicals and food.

Belt-tightening

She said that in these times of uncertainty, the FPI member companies would tighten their belts, although, to date, no FPI member has retrenched workers, saying they can still endure the current situation.

“However, if the war continues for six months to a year, we might be in trouble already. But I think it would not last that long. The government itself is doing what it needs to do to safeguard us from these high oil prices. For now, the business strategy is to really tighten our belts and be more efficient because this (war) was not expected. This happened on 28 February, and the world was shocked,” she said at the sidelines of the FPI 2.0 forum, themed ‘Geopolitics, Peace and Prosperity: Ensuring Business Resilience in Uncertain Times’, at the Shangri-La The Fort, Taguig City on Thursday.

Lee said part of the manufacturing sector’s belt-tightening strategy include cutting company travel, conservation of energy use and carpooling for their workers.

Accelerate reliance on renewable energy

With fuel prices surging in the past weeks, Lee said the country, particularly the manufacturing sector, should accelerate further reliance on renewable energy sources.

“Also, we need to move up the value chain for higher value manufacturing so we can absorb more local labor instead of Filipinos going outside the country,” she said.

Lee said the FPI supports the government in saying that the country is not yet in crisis, as they are doing a lot of things to negotiate to get fuel that the Filipinos need.

“And it opens up the opportunity to negotiate with other friendly nations to get imports, and not only limited to the Middle East. We have to be more cognizant that we can actually source some of our fuel, not only from the Middle East, but from other countries also,” she said.

Current prices maintained 30, 60 days

The Department of Trade and Industry earlier said manufacturers of necessities and prime commodities have confirmed that they can maintain current prices for the next 30 days, with some able to do so for up to 60 days.

This is based on a meeting called by Trade Secretary Ma. Cristina Roque on 16 March 2026 attended by a total of 21 manufacturers, including canned sardines, bread, bottled water, instant noodles, coffee, canned meat, toilet soap, and candles.