FACT CHECK: Value of peso against dollar already declining during Marcos years

Claim: The value of the peso against the US dollar started declining during the administration of former president Corazon Aquino. During the administration of the late dictator Ferdinand E. Marcos, the peso-dollar exchange rate was at P1 per dollar.

Rating: FALSE

Why we fact-checked this: The claim can be found in a video uploaded on February 8 by the YouTube channel “KAPATID AVINIDZ,” with 6,874 views, 604 likes, and 99 comments as of writing. 

At the 1:47 mark, the narrator says: “Matapos kumampi ang maraming Pilipino sa isang mangmang at sinungaling na lider [referring to Aquino who was shown at 1:51], nagsimulang bumaba ang kalidad ng ating gobyerno. Nagsimulang bumaba at bumaba ang halaga ng piso, na dati noong panahon ni Marcos, ay halos kasing-value, kasing-value na ng dolyar.” 

(After many Filipinos sided with a leader who was an ignoramus and a liar, the quality of our government started going down. The value of the peso started declining, whereas before, during Marcos’ time, it had almost the same value as the dollar.)

The video was posted two weeks before the commemoration of the 1986 EDSA People Power Revolution which overthrew the Marcos dictatorship.

The facts: The value of the peso against the dollar was already declining under the Marcos administration, according to data from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) showing the monthly peso-dollar exchange rates from 1945 onwards.

For December 1965, the month when the Marcos administration started, the average peso-dollar exchange rate was already at P3.91 to $1. By February 1986, when Marcos was ousted and Aquino became president, the average exchange rate was at P20.46 to $1 (month-end exchange rate for February 1986 was at P21.98 to $1).

Contrary to the claim, the Philippine peso never achieved the P1 to $1 exchange rate during the Marcos years. According to BSP data, the average exchange rate was at P2 per dollar from 1945 to 1959, the highest level the Philippine peso has ever reached since 1945. 

Previous related fact-checks: Rappler has fact-checked similar claims as far back as 2019, when various Facebook pages falsely claimed that the exchange rate during the Marcos years was P1.50 to P2 per dollar. This was usually presented as proof of the late dictator’s supposed “achievements.” (READ: Marcos years marked ‘golden age’ of PH economy? Look at the data)

Rappler has also fact-checked claims from the YouTube channel “KAPATID AVINIDZ” several times before:

• FACT CHECK: No plans to rename the Philippines (September 1, 2023)
• HINDI TOTOO: Si Bongbong Marcos ang nag-iisang senador na hindi tumanggap ng PDAF (October 7, 2021)
• FALSE: Ferdinand Marcos was youngest elected as mayor, congressman, governor, and senator (September 16, 2021)
• FALSE: World Bank’s interest rate when loaning to the Philippines is 0% (July 14, 2021)
• FALSE: Magellan gave the name ‘Philippines’ to the country (June 2, 2021)
• FALSE: Ferdinand Marcos appeared in a 1983 world leaders’ meeting in Canada (May 21, 2021)
• FALSE: Voluntary ROTC implemented during president Cory Aquino’s term (May 19, 2021)
• FALSE: Military under Marcos was most advanced in Asia (November 17, 2020)

– Percival Bueser/ Rappler.com 

Percival Bueser is a graduate of Rappler’s fact-checking mentorship program. This fact check was reviewed by a member of Rappler’s research team and a senior editor. Learn more about Rappler’s fact-checking mentorship program here.

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