Senator Panfilo Lacson. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO / RICHARD A. REYES
President Rodrigo Duterte’s “rudeness” might be one of the reasons why the peso plunged to its weakest level Monday, Senator Panfilo Lacson said on Tuesday.
The peso on Monday plunged to a seven-year low, closing at P48.25 to a dollar.
READ: Peso plunges to 7-yr low
“Maraming factors. Ang narinig ko from some economist friends, sabi nila talagang lumakas ang dollar kasi may pressure din sa Euro. Actually, yung US dollar ang talagang nag-e-strengthen,” Lacson told reporters.
“But, of course, mayroon din sigurong ibang factors ano? Baka kasama na rin yung kabastusan ng Pangulo natin,” the senator said, followed by a hearty laugh.
(There are many factors. What I hear from economist friends is that the dollar is really gaining strength because of the pressure on the Euro. Actually, it is really the US dollar that is really growing in strength.
(But, of course, there are also other factors, right? Maybe among those is the President’s rudeness.)
He was apparently referring to President Rodrigo Duterte, who is known for his foul language.
Lacson though admitted that concerns that investors have been leaving the country have yet to be validated.
“Yung concern na sinasabing baka yung investors umaalis, wala naman tayong narinig na factual information na nagsasabing umalis yung investors,” he said.
(On what they are saying that the investors might be leaving, we haven’t heard of any factual information on that.)
The senator reiterated that the main reason why the peso plunged was because the US dollar has further strengthened against the Euro. CDG/rga
READ: Nograles: Don’t blame Duterte for stock market losses