Rep. Sandro Marcos when asked about inflation: ‘Baka mag-viral na naman’
Senior Deputy Majority Leader and Ilocos Norte 1st district Rep. Sandro Marcos chided reporters about possibly becoming a “viral” subject again after he was asked on Friday afternoon, Nov. 4 to give his opinion on another economics-related issue.
In his district office, Marcos was amicably answering inquiries from reporters when one of them asked, “Sir, yung opinyon niyo po sa patuloy na pagtaas ng inflation?”
The 28-year-old representative responded by saying, “Baka mag-viral na naman,” which made the journalists in attendance at the briefing giggle.
Marcos was referring to the social media response to the answer he had given when asked by a group of journalists about the weakening of the peso against the dollar. To the question, he had answered “The peso is not weak because the peso is weak. The peso is weak because the dollar is strong.”
His remark was parodied and meme-fied on social media.
As regards to the 7.7 percent inflation rate in October 2022, Marcos had this to say:
“This was expected, it’s an unwelcome development. But it is expected given the numerous supply…that happened. Like I said in my last interview, the government is trying to be self-sustainable in terms of agriculture and production that would hopefully cut down imports and make the rises in price more palatable,” he said.
“But in saying that, it’s not just supply driven, it’s also demand-driven. There was actually a study that came out na nakita ko (that I saw). Kasi (Because) inflation is affected by lack of supply or excess in demand. So it’s a bit of both, mostly supply,” he noted.
“Katulad ng sinabi ko noon (Like what I said before), even if we have reached a high–I think since December 2018, was the last time na nakarating tayo sa ganung kataas na inflation (that was the last time that we reached this high of an inflation rate)–this is something that’s being experienced by the whole world,” explained Marcos.
But Marcos emphasized that the Philippine inflation rate “is not that high” or just at mid-level when compared to that of its neighbors in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).
“So it’s really a global phenomenon. That’s not to say we shouldn’t be doing anything about it. So rest assured, the national government–I think [Secretary] Ben Diokno of the DOF (Department of Finance)–just made an announcement…the programs they would be pursuing to be able to ease the burden of the rise in prices,” Marcos said.
“So with that, I guess we just have to keep on going and hope that this global phenomenon would work out for all,” he further said.
So, of course, Marcos’s fears were not entirely unfounded. His latest remarks were once again mocked b social media, though not as much as the “peso is not weak” comment did. Who could blame the average Filipino? For them “not that high” is small consolation to the ever-shrinking purchasing power of the peso.
