While the BSP has room to "preserve" monetary policy support for the economy, Diokno warned that a resurgence of COVID-19 infections could further dampen domestic demand and overall business and consumer confidence.
The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) kept the rate on the overnight reverse repurchase facility at a record low of 2.0%, as predicted by all 13 economists in a Reuters poll.
Currencies in the region, which have seen solid gains recently against a weaker US dollar, were also broadly steady. Malaysian ringgit ticked up 0.2%, while the Thai baht and Indonesian rupiah added 0.1% each.
A recovery hinges on the government's plan to vaccinate as many as 70 million Filipinos, or two-thirds of the population, this year though supply could delay the timeline.
Accordingly, many economists see further monetary easing next year, given the relatively weak fiscal support from the government to pull the economy out of its first recession in nearly three decades.