Amando M Tetangco, Jr: The 2006 BSP praise awards – a harvest of excellence Speech by Mr Amando M Tetangco, Jr, Governor of the Central Bank of the Philippines (Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas), at the 2006 BSP Praise Awarding Ceremony, Manila, 25 July 2007. * * * Members of the Monetary Board, Civil Service Commission Field Officer Eva Olmedillo, our 2006 Bangko Sentral PRAISE Awardees, fellow central bankers, magandang umaga po sa inyong lahat! I am very pleased to know from Deputy Governor Andy Suratos and Director Dong Asperilla that this morning we have a total of 460 awardees under our 2006 Praise Program. These are awardees who scaled the bar of excellence within the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas! Ladies and gentlemen, let us congratulate and thank our awardees by giving them another well-deserved round of applause! Excellence is what we strive for at the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas. Excellence in the pursuit of our mandate to ensure stable prices and a sound banking system. Excellence in the way we do things. We should be conscious of this at all times, for our actions here at the Bangko Sentral affect the lives of millions of Filipinos. Filipinos we have pledged to serve to the best of our abilities. Arthur Schelesinger, Jr., the American historian and social critic, once said “excellence is the eternal quest. We achieve it by living up to our highest intellectual standards and our finest moral intuitions.” I hope therefore that excellence will be the constant standard at the Bangko Sentral. While the Bangko Sentral is consistently regarded as a top performing government agency, you and I know there are still many areas we can improve on. This is the focus of our ongoing strategic planning sessions. I challenge our awardees as well to expand the circles of excellence in their respective areas, to become good role models, and to serve as constant inspiration to their colleagues. Never lose sight of what your awards stand for: Bangko Sentral’s commitment to excellence in serving the Filipino people. Muli, bigyan po natin ng mainit na palakpakan ang ating mga awardees! Finally, let us acknowledge the significant contributions of the following to the continuing success of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas with a big round of applause: the members of our Monetary Board including Dr. Vicente Valdepenas, Jr.; Atty. Raul Boncan, Sr.; Mrs. Juanita Amatong; Atty. Nelly Favis-Villafuerte; Mr. Alfredo Antonio; and Socio-Economic Planning Secretary Romy Neri. Let us also acknowledge our three hardworking Deputy Governors, in alphabetical order – Nesting Espenilla, Diwa Guinigundo and Andy Suratos; Assistant Governors Jun de Zuñiga, Vic Aquino, Dolly Yuvienco, Eve Avila, Tessie Hatta; and finally, all the other officers and staff of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas! You all make me proud to be a central banker! Marami pong salamat sa inyong lahat! Mabuhay ang Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas!