A pause in interest rate hikes is likely in the policy meeting of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) in May, the Department of Finance (DOF) said. "The BSP has done enough, in my view,” Finance Secretary Benjamin E. Diokno told reporters after the central bank raised its benchmark interest rate by 425 basis points from 200 basis points last year. Diokno pointed that the BSP has the highest policy rate increase in the region and the adjustment’s full impact has yet to be absorbed by the economy. “Additionally, BSP has taken back the unprecedented policy move it has adopted during the pandemic that is, treating bank lending to micro, small and medium enterprises as compliant to the reserve requirements,” Diokno said. “That measure translates to a 200 bps [basis points] cut in reserve requirements. The  implied cut has been restored. As a result of these policy moves, while the numbers are tentative, lending, producer and consumer credits appear to have slowed down,” he added. For this reason, the DOF chief believes that the monetary authorities have done enough. But at the same time, he added that non-monetary measures to ease inflation have to be done to address the problem more effectively. “An all of government approach to win the fight against inflation has been adopted,” Diokno said. President Marcos recently approved the creation of an interagency price monitoring group, chaired by DOF with the National Economic and Development Authority as co-chair, where specific recommendations were proposed and approved. Diokno expects these non-monetary measures to “bear fruit in the near term.” “Henceforth, the decision to import goods in short supply such as rice, meat, sugar and others will science-based, rather than ad hoc. Meanwhile, world oil prices are declining and could fall below BSP’s benchmark levels,” Diokno said. "At the same time, the peso remains stable, and is likely to appreciate, as the U.S. dollar weakens and as OF [overseas Filipino] remittances, BPO receipts, tourism incomes, and FDI [foreign direct investment] inflows continue to expand,” he concluded.