History as well as human psychology has taught us that when authorities begin using the phrase “don’t panic,” there certainly is a reason for panic.
We won’t be surprised if that’s the case with the Philippine peso now sliding to P64 per dollar last week – a horror story just in time for Halloween.
President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Romualdez Marcos, Jr.’s assertion that there’s no reason for the public to panic over the peso’s downward spiral not only confirms what the Filipinos have known all along – that this administration has proved inept, lackadaisical and unwilling to act on the pressing issues of the day.
No reason to panic, Mr. President?
Not when costs of basic goods and commodities in a country that has become too reliant on importation, at the expense of local production, have become next to unbearable for the ordinary Filipino.
Not when a weaker peso meant that our currency reserves can’t adequately cover our ballooning foreign debt, never mind the payments for the imports that our government officials claim is the way to lower the costs of goods and services.
Not when a weaker peso meant that the remittances of our overseas Filipino workers are becoming increasingly difficult to sustain the lives of the families of OFWs.
Not to mention that global political and economic instabilities meant that the windows of opportunities for Filipinos abroad are becoming narrower and narrower.
No reason to panic, Mr. President?
Perhaps the country’s economic managers should be in panic mode right now, and not just for the economy.
Perhaps if the President’s people are reminded that economic instability often equates to political instability, then they can be scared enough to act on our country’s worsening economic situation?
#OpinYonLaguna #Editorial