For a week straight, the Philippine Peso fell to all-time low of 58 pesos against US Dollar. A weak peso continuously plunges to lower levels raises concern and worry for rising cost of living and inflation. Consumers will now like to hold back on their consumption, defer on car purchases, credit card use because it's going to be a lot more expensive for them to carry the burden of their household debt. For poor families, it will be more troublesome as all the basic needs kept on getting expensive. Moreso, the unemployment rate in the country has also increased. Despite the continued depreciation, the officials were saying that the peso is not the worst performer in the region. Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas also said that the peso's movement is natural in a growing economy. Today, the government is discussing next year’s budget and yet the budget looks like it’s business as usual. There are billions of monies for confidential funds and more corruption issues were being raised such as overpriced laptops for DepEd teachers. I think this is the time when we should look at the budget and focus on what are essential. Those that are not essential, those can be deferred. I feel like the President together with his economic team is slow, undecisive and unprepared in resolving this pressing concern. The government has no concrete strategies and plans, and has only superficial tentative solutions. The government cannot even keep the investors to our countries, more so attracting new investors. The President has the support of the upper and lower house, and all the key position holders are his relatives or sponsors, therefore aggressive response and countermeasures are expected from them. Every day our fellow Filipinos keep on fighting and surviving in this gettinghopeless state of poverty. I think all the government moves should constitute a balancing act and require a very experienced and competent management team whose ears are on the ground and whose eyes are focused on global events and trends. The economic team should come up with short term measures to confront the immediate needs of the people and the economic players, as well as long-range measures to build a solid foundation for the Philippine economy. Furthermore, let us remember that more natural disasters are coming and the COVID-19 crisis is still unresolved. If our economic and financial leaders are not prepared, the sufferings of the people are bound to be exacerbated and made longer and deeper. A leader of a struggling economy should have the wisdom of an owl, the speed and courage of an eagle, and the purity of a dove. I hope our government can measure up to the huge challenge in front of them and the whole nation.
