Arroyo to dollar speculators: Where’s your conscience?

President Arroyo lashed out anew yesterday at dollar hoarders, whom she accused of draining the lifeblood of the country’s financial and economic system by cashing in on speculation during the peso’s recent slump.

"Makunsensiya naman kayo (Have a conscience)!" the President said in her State of the Nation Address (SONA) during the joint opening of the 12th Congress at the Batasang Pambansa complex in Quezon City yesterday.

Mrs. Arroyo has been training her guns on dollar hoarders, including banks, after heavy speculative attacks on the peso pulled down the currency to a six-month low of 54 to the dollar last week.

"To those speculating against the peso, I have only this to say: Have you no pity for the common people? Have you no love for your country?" she asked.

Amid renewed proposals to impose currency restrictions to stop dollar hoarders, the President said the government will continue to adhere to free market exchange rates but expressed support for the move of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) to curb speculation.

"We adhere to a freely convertible peso and market exchange rates. However, we support measures to curb speculation such as currency risk hedging facilities, interest rate adjustments, monitoring of forex transactions and selective participation in the currency market," she said.

Mrs. Arroyo also urged Congress to design innovative policies to develop the Philippine capital market.

She asked lawmakers to enact laws on capital market reform such as the Personal Equity Retirement Act, Investment Company Act and Securitization Act.

The President also sought the speedy approval of the revisions to the BSP charter and the Banking Act.

The two bills, she said, will hopefully improve supervision and promote financial prudence, thereby taking the Philippines off the list of money-laundering nations.

On the budget deficit, the President pledged to collect taxes vigorously and spend public money prudently. She also asked lawmakers to enact a law providing for a gross income tax system.

For strengthening the financial system, Mrs. Arroyo said the government would design policies to set up a secondary housing mortgage by the end of 2002, an asset management company for bad loans and provident fund for overseas Filipinos. – Marichu Villanueva