Palace: Weak peso driven by Middle East conflict

Malacañang on Tuesday said the government has limited control over the peso’s continued weakening against the US dollar, citing the ongoing conflict in the Middle East as a major factor.

“Hindi po natin nais na ganito. Hindi po ninais ng Pangulo na magkaroon ng gulo sa Middle East. Ito po ay talagang nagiging epekto at ang paghina po ng peso kontra dolyar ay bunsod na rin po ng geopolitical tension na nangyayari po sa Middle East,” Presidential Communications Office Undersecretary Claire Castro said.

On Monday, the peso depreciated to a new record low of ₱60.69 per dollar, from the previous record of ₱60.55.

“So, talaga pong ito ang maaaring kahihinatnan hanggang hindi po napipigil ang tensyon o ang sigalot sa Middle East,” Castro added.

Despite this, Castro said the government is working to cushion the impact of the weak peso, particularly on inflation and basic goods.

“Dahil nga po sa nangyayaring sigalot sa Middle East. At alam po natin ang ginagawa ng Pangulo at ng administrasyon na ito upang maibsan po ang epekto nitong sigalot ng Middle East, at gawin po ang lahat para po maayos ang lahat ng nangyayari pati po ang pagtulong sa ating mga kababayan,” she said.

Meanwhile, the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) assured that prices of basic goods will remain stable until 16 April following an agreement with manufacturers under the Unified Package for Livelihoods, Industry, Food, and Transport program.

Castro said major manufacturers have committed to keeping prices unchanged, with a product list to be released for public information.

The DTI will also conduct weekly monitoring of basic commodity prices, with Trade Secretary Cristina Roque set to meet manufacturers again to ensure compliance, particularly amid rising global oil prices.

While increases in oil prices may be unavoidable, Castro said the government will take steps to mitigate their impact on consumers.

On concerns over rising liquefied petroleum gas prices, the DTI said price caps and monitoring fall under the jurisdiction of the Department of Energy.

“The implementation of price caps and monitoring of LPG tanks falls under DOE’s prerogative. Even with DTI as the National Price Coordinating Council Chair, DoE as the implementing agency of that BN/PC should impose the price cap/lead monitoring,” the DTI said.