In a briefing with reporters, Ilocos Norte Rep. Sandro Marcos blamed the strong dollar for the weakening of the peso, noting that the Philippines is not the only country experiencing currency depreciation. This needs context.
Sinabi ni Press Secretary Trixie Cruz-Angeles na ang dahilan ng pagtaas ng inflation sa bansa ay ang peso-dollar exchange rate na bumagsak sa pinakamababang halaga, at “hindi dahil sa anumang lokal kadahilanan.” Ito ay nakaliligaw.
Sonny Africa, executive director of IBON Foundation, told VERA Files Fact Check in an email that while rising global prices of food and the depreciation of the peso, driven by interest rate hikes in the United States, are indeed immediate inflation factors, the government has “direct control over factors like the excise and value added taxes it puts on goods and services consumed or, like fuel, used to produce other goods and services.”