Budget Secretary Benjamin E. Diokno. FILE PHOTO
Budget Secretary Benjamin Diokno on Friday said there was nothing to worry about the depreciation of the peso against the US currency since the peso-dollar exchange rate was still within the government target range of P48-P52 to a dollar.
Diokno said the peso depreciation also favored overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) and the country’s exporters.
“I’m not worried about the peso depreciation … And right now our target, we’ll relax it a little bit. It’s up to … P48-P52, I think. That’s our target,” Diokno told reporters in Malacañang.
“My position has been that let’s leave it to the market. Right now, a peso depreciation favors more than half of the Filipinos because of overseas Filipino remittances,” he added.
On July 3, the peso slid to P50.545:$1, an almost 11-year-low. On Friday, it further weakened to P50.65.
“You know, whenever you have a peso depreciation, that is favorable to our exports sector, which will then create more jobs,” Diokno said.
“The families of OFWs like this … because that will increase their purchasing power,” he added.