By Dean Aubrey Caratiquet
In a briefing late Thursday, Presidential Communications Office (PCO) Undersecretary and Palace Press Officer Claire Castro assured Filipinos that President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. remains tuned in to the various challenges facing the common folk.
This response comes on the heels of mounting public clamor to lower electricity prices and address transportation fares.
Usec. Castro told the media, “Binabalanse ng Pangulo ang mga isinasagawang proyekto at programa. Hindi puwedeng isa lang ang manalo; lahat dapat manalo.”
She went on to emphasize that this equilibrium remains atop the priority list in planning and implementing government programs to address the needs of different sectors.
On the continued depreciation of the Philippine peso against the US dollar, the Malacañang official said that the government is hard at work in exhausting all possible options to mitigate the repercussions of this worrying development on Filipino consumers.
As of Friday, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) reported a foreign exchange rate of US$1=P 63.049.
Usec. Castro attributed the downward spiral of the local currency to factors such as the ongoing crisis in the Middle East, the effects of El Niño and domestic political developments, but assured the citizenry that the administration remains on top of these various issues.
“Pero ang Pangulo at ang administrasyon ay nakatutok po rito para mas magawan ng paraan at the same time para mapag-aralan pa ang mga epekto para sa ating mga kababayan at kung ano pa ang pwedeng gawin ng ating administrasyon para iyong nadaranas ng ating mga kababayan ay ma-lessen o ma-mitigate ang hirap ng ating mga kababayan. (with report from Kenneth Paciente| PTV News)
jpv
