Gains from peso's appreciation seen

MANILA – “The [country] is gaining more advantages than disadvantages from the peso's continuing appreciation against the [US] dollar,” said Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas Deputy Governor Diwa Gunigundo.

Although the peso's rise is lowering earnings of local exporters, he said such can be addressed through measures like enhancing product-competitiveness to increase sales volume.

"I think the peso's appreciation has more advantages as the export business isn't dependent on pricing alone," he said.

He noted artificially depressing the peso's value to give local exporters price advantage won't address the problem since they must instead gear up for competition.

"The challenge is for our exporters to shape up," he said.