Finance Secretary Carlos G. Dominguez III brushed off concerns about a sliding currency and weakening investor sentiment, pledging the government will take rational action on the economy.
The peso’s 2.4-percent decline against the dollar this year—the worst performance among Asian currencies after the yuan—doesn’t worry authorities as much as an “abrupt drop” in the exchange rate, he said in an interview in Tokyo on Wednesday.
“What would concern me is an abrupt drop,” Dominguez said. “The rate of change is the most important. If it is orderly, if it is rational, it is OK.”
Dominguez, who is accompanying President Duterte on a state visit, acknowledged that some investors, including those in the outsourcing industry, are nervous with the new administration and its approach to diplomacy.
“Yes, we understand that and we will hold their hands through the process,” he said. “We will do rational things that are to their benefit. To the benefit of everybody.”
Philippine officials are stepping up the defense of the administration’s economic and foreign policies, seeking to assure investors rattled by Duterte’s fiery rhetoric that includes “separation” from the US. The American Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines on Wednesday said it has received a large volume of messages from investors asking for explanations and whether their investment and visits to the country are still welcome.
Japan fits in the center of the administration’s foreign-policy rebalancing as a valued trade partner, Dominguez said. Japan’s aid to the Philippines, the nation’s largest donor, does not come with political strings attached, he said.
“Other countries do that, and we think that’s offensive to our culture,” he said.