As part of the administration's firmer stand against fake news, A Malacañang official is wondering if former president Rodrigo Duterte's latest allegation against President Marcos is just one of his jokes as seldom claimed by his supporters.

Newly appointed Communications Undersecretary Claire Castro said this after the former president accused Marcos of stealing and selling the country's gold reserves.

In her maiden press briefing in Malacañan on Monday, Feb. 24, Castro said Duterte has told too many jokes that his recent allegation may just be one of them.

"Hindi ba ito campaign joke ulit ni dating pangulong Duterte (Is this not just another campaign joke of the former president)? she said.

"Hindi pa ba tayo nasanay doon sa jetski promise niya? Na noong naniwala tayo halos sa mga sumuporta sa kanya eh tinawag tayong stupid (Have we gotten used to him like his jetski promise and called us stupid for believing him)?" she added.

Despite this, Castro said Malacañan will take the matter seriously.

"Sasagutin lang namin yung mga joke na lagi niyang sinasabi (We will respond to the jokes that he makes)," she said.

"Ito bang mga sinasabi niya during sa kanilang campaign rallies joke ba o seryoso (Are his pronouncements during their campaign rallies jokes or not)? We have to know that," she added.

Castro dared Duterte to present proof that Marcos spent the country's gold reserves as she wondered if the former president had no idea how it works.

"Wala ba siyang economic experts na magsasabi sa kanya kung ano ba talaga ang regular activities ng BSP? Nagtataka lang tayo bakit hindi ito alam ng dating pangulo (Does he not have economic experts to inform him about the BSP's activities? We're wondering why the former president is not aware of it)," she said.

"Bakit sa kanya parang wala siyang ebidensya? Laging pa-intriga. All we want here is evidence. Ipakita niya (It seems like he doesn't have any evidence. He always makes intrigues. All we want here is evidence. He should present it)," she added.

In a statement, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) said the country’s gross international reserves (GIR), including gold, are held and managed solely by the BSP to maintain the international stability and convertibility of the Philippine peso and meet any foreseeable net demands on the BSP for foreign currencies.

"The country’s GIR is not used for any other purpose other than meeting the country’s forex requirements," it said.

Tasked to manage the country’s external accounts, among other functions, the BSP said it has been buying and selling gold over the years as part of its core functions.

"When the BSP sells gold, the proceeds revert to and stay within the GIR. Last year, the GIR rose to USD 106.3 billion from USD 103.8 billion in 2023," it said.

According to the BSP, it maintains a portion of its reserves in gold as part of the country’s GIR mostly to hedge against or offset movements in the market price of other assets.

However, it pointed out that since gold prices can be volatile, earn little interest, and have storage costs, central banks do not want to hold too much gold.

"It buys or sells gold to maintain an optimum level for this purpose, not too much, not too little. This follows basic portfolio-management principles," the BSP said.

"Gold prices tend to move in the opposite direction of other assets. Therefore central banks hold some gold as a hedge against price declines in other assets in the reserves," it added.