MANILA, Philippines - The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) is aiming to reach out to exporters as the peso continues to weaken, affecting the exchange rate-sensitive sectors.  

BSP Deputy Governor Diwa Guinigundo said economic briefings will  kick off in Davao City, Bohol and Manila in April this year, followed by Pampanga in May and Cebu City in June.

"We will talk about the global and domestic environment," Guinigundo told reporters on Tuesday.

The briefing aims to give the exporters a clearer picture of the present and what to expect on the economy in the coming months.

These series of roadshows come in a wake of Philippine Exporters Confederation Inc.'s (Philexport) appeal for a rethinking of the BSP's continued support to a strong peso in its bid to rein in consumer prices increase.

Philexport said the central bank's present exchange-rate policy has had a devastating impact on exporters whose goods and services have become costlier than their rivals, and on domestic industries that are losing out to cheap imports.

The group added overseas Filipinos also had suffered as their services have become more expensive than other labor-exporting nations.

Philexport board already passed a resolution formally asking the BSP to review its exchange rate policy, which has equated a strong peso with a vibrant economy since during the American occupation.

Guinigundo is hoping to encourage exporters to desist from relying on a weak currency and instead emphasize other competitiveness-enhancing measures so they can cope with the anemic external demand.

He added there are too many "paper work" that hampered the speedy delivery of services in the Philippines, adding the turnover in other countries is twice as fast compared here because there is no red tape.

Guinogundo also said exporters are facing many obstacles from agencies like the Bureau of Customs.

"Those are the more important factors to consider in achieving competitiveness. But admittedly they are more difficult to grapple with," he said, adding that exporters have instead looked to the simpler task of tweaking the exchange rate in their favor.