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MANILA, Philippines — The economic managers of the Marcos administration assured the public that they are closely monitoring the developments of the country’s inflation rate and the weakening of the peso, adding that the Philippines is on track with its short-term and medium-term goals.
In a Palace briefing on Tuesday, Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Arsenio Balisacan said the inflation rate and exchange rates were discussed during the President’s meeting with his economic managers earlier in the morning.
“What we need to do is to assure our people that we’re on track and we’re not detracted by these developments in achieving our short-term and medium-term goals,” he said.
Balisacan said that while the government addresses short-term issues like inflation, it is mindful not to “abandon” its medium-term goals.
The government will also address inflation by assisting the most vulnerable sectors, particularly farmers and fisherfolk.
“We are monitoring also the developments closely so we can also deploy our monetary tools like the interest rate and how we can intervene in the financial market to obtain these included the weakening of the peso,” Balisacan said.
“We do seek for solutions for the short-term challenges. We are very careful that we do not compromise our medium-term goals. This is to put the economy on a higher growth trajectory so that we can achieve more high-quality jobs and reduce poverty rapidly,” he added.
Balisacan also said the country’s rising inflation is only “temporary” and is expected to slow down from 2% to 4%.
The issue of Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators, meanwhile, was not tackled during the President’s meeting, the National Economic Development Authority chief said.