uses while maintaining financial stability ; and delivering opportunities for growth and investment through financial inclusion and literacy. we see continued economic challenges for the philippines moving forward. nevertheless, our success in keeping our economy on the growth path in the midst of global volatility gives us confidence that we have what it takes to deal with the challenges that will come our way. among others, our economy ’ s non - inflationary growth momentum, sound banking system, and favorable external liquidity position provide your policymakers, including the bangko sentral ng pilipinas, enough flexibility to respond appropriately to evolving domestic and global conditions. we can look forward therefore to 2016 with cautious optimism. let us also take heart from third party assessments that continue to give us high marks. in the past, the philippines was called the sick man of asia. in recent months, we have been described as a star among emerging economies. more recently, we were described by analysts as the region ’ s economic strongman due, among others, to our resilient growth. this is well and good. but we can make it better. let us work together on spreading the benefits from sustained economic growth with those who need it the most. rcm and rcfp lead the way in such programs. hopefully, we can get more advocates to work on financial inclusion that supports sustained inclusive growth. if you are interested, we can provide a briefing on the national strategy for financial inclusion so that you can assess how to support it as private sector partners. with the collective wisdom, expertise and influence of the members of the rcm and rcfp, i have no doubt, you can increase your sphere of influence to benefit more areas and more people. bis central bankers ’ speeches finally, on behalf of the bangkok sentra ng filipinas, i wish all the officers and members of the rotary club of manila and the rotary club of forbes park, a happy, healthy, and prosperous 2016! mabuhay nag rcm and rcfp! mabuhay nag pilipinas! mabuhay pop toying lama! maralinga salaam as into. bis central bankers ’ speeches

% in september 2015 from 2. 56 % in september 2014 ; while deposits reached record - high levels, increasing by over 9 % year - on - year to nearly p 8. 8 trillion as of september 2015. meanwhile, the country ’ s strong external position continued to inspire confidence among investors and creditors, with the current account remaining in surplus, given the steady inflow of remittances from overseas filipinos and receipts from bpos, and a healthy level of gross international reserves that can support a robust economy. i am pleased to inform you that preliminary gir at end - december 2015 was reported at us $ 80. 6b, over us $ 1b more than the level at end - december 2014. at $ 80. 6b, the reserves can cover 10. 3 months ’ worth of imports and payment for goods and services. third - party sentiment on the domestic economy ’ s prospects also remained bullish. the international credit rating agency fitch upgraded its outlook on the philippine economy to “ positive ” from “ stable ” in september 2015. this is an indication of possibly yet another credit rating upgrade within 18 months. in other words, ladies and gentlemen, the philippines remained stable in 2015 and went on to post 67 quarters of uninterrupted economic growth against a harsh external environment. looking ahead to 2016 looking ahead to 2016, there are at least three challenges that the bsp should focus on. we can summarize them into three key words – stability, liquidity, and opportunity. let us start with stability. in 2016, the bsp ’ s primary concern will be to continue to provide a stable environment where inflation is low, stable and within target. our latest forecasts show that the path of inflation will be consistent with the national government ’ s target range of 2 to 4 percent in 2016 – 2017. however, there are potential upside pressures to inflation. food prices are likely to be affected by el nino, other weather disturbances, and increases in utility rates. on the other hand, downside risks could come from slower - than - expected global economic activities that could further lower oil and commodity prices. the bsp will continue to monitor national and global developments to ensure that our monetary policy stance remains appropriate. in addition, the bsp will continue to find ways to further enhance the effectiveness of our monetary policy. among others, we will adopt by the second quarter this year, what we call the interest rate corridor or irc system. this is calibrated to