MANILA, Philippines — Finance Secretary Cesar V. Purisima has called for coordinated actions among global regulators amid uncertainty in the financial markets after Standard & Poor's downgraded, for the first time, the US’ credit rating.

Until the world's largest economy addresses its fundamental issues, Purisima said, global regulators will have to be more coordinated in their actions as this latest development in the US also heightens the need for a new framework of coordination.

“I think we may have entered an era that is less predictable and less stable global financial markets as a result of the credit downgrade of the global reserve currency and the benchmark financial instrument,” Purisima said in a text message sent to reporters over the weekend.

He said the financial markets’ unease may in the short term make investors more tentative and may slow down the global economy.

Purisima pointed out that the lattest development in the US has also highlighted the need for alternative global reserve currencies and benchmarks ‘that are more stable and as liquid and convertible.’

Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) Governor Amando M. Tetangco Jr., meanwhile, said that the Philippine government has to keep in check its fiscal condition.

“The downgrade of the US signifies that there is great interest in how the US manages its fiscal affairs. What S&P seems to be saying is that they need ‘more’ from the authorities,” Tetangco said.

“It would be good to heed calls for improvements of fiscal management. The call by President Aquino to keep our fiscal house in order is most opportune,” he added.

Tetangco also said that the developments in the US and peripheral Europe should remind all regulators that there is no substitute for good fiscal management, adding, “everyone has to be prepared for the unexpected.”

But Tetangco also said that because the US market remains the most liquid and deepest and as Europe still faces uncertainty, the world’s largest economy is not likely going to experience a huge sell-off, even with the one-notch downgrade.

“Many still see the US treasury market as safe heaven,” the Philippines’ Monetary Board chairman said.

For the BSP, he said US treasuries will continue to be within the allowable investible universe for its reserves even with the one-notch downgrade by S&P.

“Dips in the value of US treasuries would be compensated for by earlier diversification moves,” Tetangco said.

Malacañang spokesperson Ricky Carandang, meanwhile, said the credit rating downgrade would serve as a "wake-up call" but that it was confident the US could address its problems.

Carandang said that President Aquino's top economic advisers were closely monitoring the US debt crisis after Washington lost its top-notch credit rating, but he said it was too early to tell what the effect would be on Philippines.

Standard & Poor’s downgraded the US triple-A credit rating for the first time by one level to AA+ while keeping the outlook at ‘negative.’

The New York-based firm said the rating may be cut to AA within two years if spending reductions are lower than agreed to, interest rates rise or ‘new fiscal pressures’ result in higher general government debt.

“The downgrade reflects our opinion that the fiscal consolidation plan that Congress and the Administration recently agreed to falls short of what, in our view, would be necessary to stabilize the government’s medium-term debt dynamics,” S&P said.