MANILA — The country’s biggest local business group wants the Marcos administration to act on the peso's further depreciation against the foreign currency.

The Philippine peso plunged to its lowest level against the US dollar at P59 on Oct. 13, the third time the currency ended trading day at P59 to $1.

• Peso again closes at all time low of P59 to dollar on Oct. 13

"The depreciation of our currency. Definitely... everything that we import especially on food-related staple items," Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry president George Barcelon told ANC's "Headstart" when asked what the government should act on.

"So, the government should try to mitigate that in a sense that supply should be made available. Those we do not produce enough, the importation should be more open," he added.

Barcelon warned the shortage of raw items may drive up prices, especially as the holiday season is around the corner.

"We continuously communicate with the key Cabinet secretaries... and we share with them some input that we see because we have more visibility on the ground," he said.

• 4 in 10 Pinoys unhappy with Marcos admin's moves vs inflation: survey

Several analysts have agreed that the P60 to $1 level is possible but the currency is also poised to gain from the uptick in remittances during the holidays.

About 4 in 10 Filipinos disapproved of the Marcos administration's efforts to tame inflation, according to a recent Pulse Asia survey. Inflation emerged as the top urgent national concern in the poll.

Inflation quickened to 6.9 percent in September, government data showed.

Higher price movements of food and non-alcoholic beverages were among the causes of this last month's inflation spike, the Philippine Statistics Authority has said.

• Inflation quickens to 6.9 percent in September on higher food prices