President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. assured Filipinos on Wednesday not to "panic" as he stresses that officials "have all the tools to defend the peso" which hit a new historic low, breaching past P64 per $1 level on Tuesday.

The peso, which has been yielding ground to the US dollar at a fast pace in October, had a reprieve when it closed at P64.025 after hitting the intraday low of P64.18, which surpassed the all-time low of P64.17, at the Bankers Association of the Philippines website.

In an ambush interview at the New Bilibid Prison in Muntinlupa City for the 32nd National Correctional Consciousness Week, Marcos explained that what is happening to the peso is due to rising world oil prices that is affecting the economy.

"Well, first of all, do not take it with alarm. Don't panic, It is an effect of really, of a still, the rising prices of oil and subsequently the rising prices of fuel and its effect on the economy," Marcos said.

"However, people can take solace in the fact that our policy towards the peso is to continue to defend the peso as hard as we possibly can. We have all the tools to defend the peso. We have all the means to defend the peso," he added.

Marcos met the members of the government's economic team, including Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas Gov. Eli Remolona, on Tuesday to respond to latest challenges.

Marcos assured that the government will do all it can to defend the peso.

"With that in mind, we will continue to do all that we can to make sure that the value of the peso does not continue to go down, especially relative to the dollar. The dollar is also becoming very strong. But nevertheless, we have the means, as I say,” he said.

Our foreign exchange reserves are healthy, we are using that to defend the peso. So we will continue to defend the peso," he added.

Likewise, the President also expressed the government's commitment to bring down prices of food as September inflation jumped to 7.2 percent from 6,1 percent in August.

"The inflation is coming from the supply side. It's supply-side inflation. So monetary measures can only go so far. We have to do other ways,” he noted.

"Oil, we can do nothing about. Food, we can. And we are doing, again, everything that we can to make sure that the prices of food come down,” Marcos added. Robina Asido/PHS