Amando M Tetangco, Jr: The Central Bank of the Philippines -
supporting academic excellence
Speech by Mr Amando M Tetangco, Jr, Governor of the Central Bank of the Philippines
(Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas), at the BSP UP Centennial Professorial Chairs Launching
Ceremony, Quezon City, 7 October 2008.
* * *
Senator Angara, President Roman, Chancellor Cao, our friends from the UP community,
fellow supporters of UP, special guests, good afternoon.
On behalf of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, I am here to launch the seven BSP-UP
Centennial Professorial Chairs. We believe that setting up professorial chairs is the best way
to institutionalize our support to academic excellence that is the hallmark of the University of
the Philippines.
As I said before, the concentration of UP alumni in legal, political and government circles as
well as in the scientific pool speaks volumes about the university's central role in
nationbuilding. By helping mold the minds of the nation's best and brightest or what we call iskolars
ng bayan, by stoking the engine of innovation, and by providing an intellectual compass and
healthy critique to public policymaking, UP has contributed and continues to contribute to the
advancement of our country.
The BSP-UP Centennial Professorial Chairs managed by the UP Foundation Inc. are
professorial chairs donated by the Central Bank of the Philippines in 1982-1983 during UP's
Diamond Jubilee celebrations. The original endowments for these chairs was P150,000
each. We raised each endowment to P1,500,000 by donating an additional P1,350,000 per
chair. Meanwhile, the BSP UP Centennial Professorial Chair in Business Administration has
an endowment of P1.5 million from several donations made by the CBP and the BSP since
1981. We raised the endowment to P3 million through an additional donation of P1.5 million.
The terms also have been enhanced to maximize the benefits to the chairholder.
Since 1983 when the professorial chairs were first awarded, they have been held by
distinguished scholars whose research and public service have contributed significantly to
the shaping of policy decisions, the enactment of landmark legislation and the formation of
institutions, both in the government and private sectors.
The decision of the Bangko Sentral to establish additional professorial chairs namely, the
BSP Sterling Professorial Chair in monetary and Banking Economics at the UP School of
Economics and the BSP Sterling Professorial Chair in Government and Official Statistics at
the UP School of Statistics, manifests the satisfaction of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas in
the contribution of the chair holders. Therefore, when UP President Roman and Dean
Echanis approached the BSP for upgrading the old CBP/BSP chairs to UP Centennial
Professorial Chairs, they found ready support within the Monetary Board.
In awarding the chairs, the BSP affirms the academic excellence and freedom that makes
the University of the Philippines what it is today. The professorial chairs provide funding
support for research but the chair holders are free to set the research agenda within the
sphere covered by the professorial chairs.
On the whole, the gains to the UP exceed the obvious opportunity to retain and upgrade its
most important resource, its faculty. It provides a chance to generate research and facilitate
extension activities among the major units of the UP system.
For its part, the BSP benefits through improvements in the existing body of policy-oriented
social science research, of which it is both a producer and user. Our partnership with the
University will allow us to further avail of intellectual assets to generate ideas, evolve good
practices, access good vetting and generate competitive advantage in a difficult policy
environment.
I must say that the establishment of the BSP UP Centennial Professorial Chairs is also in
recognition of the role of the University of the Philippines as the alma mater of the many
professionals among its staff.
Through these offerings, we hope to continue to provide UP's community of academics and
scholars the opportunity to generate ideas and applications that uphold the long-standing UP
tradition of academic rigor, intellectual freedom, and practical relevance. More importantly,
we hope that the research generated through the professorial chairs will be of benefit to
policymakers at the BSP and in government who are engaged in the quest for
socioeconomic development, one that will truly meet the development aspirations of Filipino
society.
The BSP UP Centennial Professorial Chairs also serve as a challenge for UP's community of
academics to continue to serve as catalysts for meaningful change in our society.
Once again, the Bangko Sentral celebrates with you the first 100 years of the University of
the Philippines and look forward to the next one hundred years of excellence in research and
education at UP.
Maraming salamat at magandang hapon sa inyong lahat!