15 November 2005
EDITORIAL: A most welcome rally
THE Philippine peso, surprise, surprise, has been rallying strongly. Where it was down and almost out during the past four months or so, today it’s like a prizefighter battered and bruised but fighting back and striking back, with a vengeance.
Quite naturally, skeptics say this is all artificial and buoyed up mainly by the natural practice of overseas Filipino workers of sending those precious dollars and assorted foreign currencies at this time of the year to their families and relatives here, thus greatly shoring up the country’s dollar reserves. Maybe so, but it’s still something that brings good tidings to Filipinos because it means simply that they can buy more for their hard-earned peso than they would have some months back.
Another proferred reason for this life leap of the peso is that on Christmas season, more businessmen have to bring out their dollars in order to purchase goods from abroad to fill their outlets up for the season’s shopping mania among Pinoys. A Central Bank official said this is a health indicator for the economy because it means our dollar situation is sound – there’s selling and buying of the Almighty dollar.
Everyone hopes this momentum can be maintained; far too long have the Filipinos wallowed in misery and political bickerings they forgot they have an economy to be responsible for. Now that once again, our economic saviors, the OFWs, are bailing us out and turning the tide for our national coffers which had been in the doldrums while everyone was engaged in finger-pointing over the mess we’re in, maybe we Pinoys should seize the moment and take stock of what’s bad in our culture and cast it out with the fading old year.
Away, away, evil spirit!
Quite naturally, skeptics say this is all artificial and buoyed up mainly by the natural practice of overseas Filipino workers of sending those precious dollars and assorted foreign currencies at this time of the year to their families and relatives here, thus greatly shoring up the country’s dollar reserves. Maybe so, but it’s still something that brings good tidings to Filipinos because it means simply that they can buy more for their hard-earned peso than they would have some months back.
Another proferred reason for this life leap of the peso is that on Christmas season, more businessmen have to bring out their dollars in order to purchase goods from abroad to fill their outlets up for the season’s shopping mania among Pinoys. A Central Bank official said this is a health indicator for the economy because it means our dollar situation is sound – there’s selling and buying of the Almighty dollar.
Everyone hopes this momentum can be maintained; far too long have the Filipinos wallowed in misery and political bickerings they forgot they have an economy to be responsible for. Now that once again, our economic saviors, the OFWs, are bailing us out and turning the tide for our national coffers which had been in the doldrums while everyone was engaged in finger-pointing over the mess we’re in, maybe we Pinoys should seize the moment and take stock of what’s bad in our culture and cast it out with the fading old year.
Away, away, evil spirit!
