No less than one of the House of Representatives’ prominent economists, Albay Rep. Joey Salceda, believes Ilocos Norte Rep. Sandro Marcos accurately attributed the peso’s weakness to the United States dollar’s strength.
Sandro thanked Salceda, chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, for “defending” him in a screenshot of a Viber message that the Bicolano lawmaker shared on his Facebook page.
In the message, the presidential son told Salceda that he “forgot to mention interest rates.”
“[P]ero kahit na I was asked out of nowhere! And I didn’t know they’d make it an issue!” Sandro said.
“Thank you for the defense I owe you on (sic),” the presidential son added.
Sandro then shared a photo he took with Salceda’s adopted son, Polangui councilor Juan Miguel Salceda.
The younger Marcos, who was schooled in London, made the viral remark on the peso’s weakness in a recent interview with local media in Ilocos Norte.
“The peso is not weak, because the peso is weak. The peso is weak because the dollar is strong,” he said.
“The dollar is strong for two reasons: kapag may krisis po sa ating […] mundo, the impression that investors, consumers, and shareholders get is that the dollar is the safest currency to get against all other currencies. So ang nangyayari ay lahat ng mga tao kapag may krisis ay bumibili ng dollar. Kapag binibili ‘yong dollar, ang demanda ng dollar tumataas, which means against other currencies it becomes stronger,” Sandro added.
