Here we go again
Budget Secretary Diokno was quick to refute President Duterte's statement that the US was behind the manipulation of the peso, causing it to be at its lowest in nine years vis-à-vis the US dollar. According to Diokno, the US economy is much better nowadays, which is why foreign investors are now investing back in the US. The US Federal Reserve has also wanted to raise interest rates. With the better economy, it now has a reason to do so, hence the appreciation of the greenback.
Sec. Diokno also gave some advice to investors not to be distracted by all the "noise," "and to see the forest, and not the trees." I leave it up to you to figure out what the "noise and the trees" are. But there are those that believe that President Duterte's acerbic comments towards the US, the UN and now the EU have something to do not only with the depreciation of the peso, but the outlook of the country in terms of business and investment.
For several days now, foreign investors have cashed out of the stock market. Then there is Standard & Poor's recent outlook, which Duterte doesn't care about. More recently, the country slipped to 57th place in the 2016 World Economic Forum Global Competitiveness report, ten notches lower than the previous report. Again, depending on who you ask, there are reasons why this is so.
I then came across what Duterte said in Hanoi, Vietnam, where he went on a 2-day official visit. He said that this year's war games with the US would be the last, and that he is "serving notice now to the Americans," also claiming that China does not want these war games. The US and the Philippines hold annual war games, which has been ongoing for the longest time since the Mutual Defense Treaty of the '50s. We also have the Visiting Forces Agreement and the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement. So what does Duterte exactly mean by this year's war games with the US being the last?
Enter the president's men. According to National Security Adviser Hermogenes Esperon Jr., the president only meant that it will be the last for the year, and not the last ever. That's his take on what Duterte said in Hanoi. But when DFA Sec. Yasay was asked, who by the way was apparently sitting on stage when Duterte was giving his usual profanity-laced speech, he said he did not hear Duterte say he was putting an end to US-PH war games.
Perhaps he already took the advice of Sec. Diokno not to listen to the "noise." Or was he just plain not listening to the speech of his boss. Nonetheless, Yasay goes on to say that we have standing treaties with the US that will go beyond Duterte's term, and that the President just cannot abrogate them.
So we now have two cabinet secretaries trying to explain on behalf of Duterte's latest pronouncements concerning the US. I guess we will have to wait again for further explanations, clarifications, even rebukes for once again misinterpreting Dutertes's statements, which are actually very clear. I mean, he said this would be the last, and that China doesn't want them. He is also warming up to China and Russia. Can't get any clearer than that.
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