MANILA, 23 February 2004 — Administration senatorial candidates said yesterday that the opposition, not President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, are to blame for the peso’s erratic decline.

Former Trade Secretary Manuel Roxas III said it was the “political noise” from the opposition that had been causing jitters within the business community.

Roxas was referring to threats of unrest by allies of opposition candidate Fernando Poe Jr. should the Supreme Court rule that he is not a Filipino citizen and, therefore, disqualified to run for president.

Arroyo’s spokesman yesterday cautioned Poe’s supporters against instigating unrest after retired generals, who have expressed support for Poe, have warned of chaos should the court rule against the 64-year-old action film star.

“This kind of talk cannot improve the situation,” presidential spokesman Ignacio Bunye said. “We should all be responsible. We should respect the rule of law and give the Supreme Court a fair chance to decide.”

“We believe the Supreme Court will be fair in deciding this matter so let us not make unwarranted statements that will further confuse the people,” he added.

Former Sen. Miriam Defensor-Santiago, who is also running under the administration coalition, urged voters to go for Arroyo if they want the country’s economic situation to improve.

Santiago said voters should choose their leader not on popularity but on who has the best experience in governance and the training to handle the country’s economic crisis.

She said the voters should have an easy choice between “an actor, and a high school dropout” and a “doctor of economics.”

Arroyo, a US-trained economist, has promised to tame the peso, whose plunge she blamed for too much politicking and mudslinging ahead of the May 10 presidential and national elections.

She assured the public that her government was prepared to take steps to stabilize the local currency.

“We will not be rendered helpless by the situation,” she said in a statement. “We have the economic tools to stabilize the peso and make sure politics does not override our efforts.”

The president is to meet with Finance Secretary Juanita Amatong and central bank Governor Rafael Buenaventura today to discuss what measures would be taken to address the perceived problems with the peso. (Additional input from Agencies)

Analysts have warned the peso could fall further against the dollar due to jitters over the elections, with the next critical level pegged at 56.50.

Roxas said the solution to the peso crash is simple respect for the country’s institutions.

“In my dealings with financial experts, it had been determined that the peso is failing because of political uncertainty,” Roxas told reporters.

“If certain people will ignore a Supreme Court decision (on the nature of Poe’s citizenship) and anarchy ensues, that would be the reason (for) uncertainty.”

Roxas said businesses have been expecting the worst since Poe’s supporters marched to the streets last week.