growth in bank lending, however, continues to be modest ( 2. 1 percent nov. ), but we expect it to rebound this year given the substantial progress achieved so far with sustained asset clean up. having said this, i have to admit, the philippines is not yet totally out of the woods. there are risks that we have to face and manage in the years ahead. we are sure, however, to move forward if we persevere. for us at the bangko sentral ng pilipinas, we are aware of the risks attendant to our primary responsibility of keeping prices stable. the monetary board had to respond promptly and carefully to these inflationary risks to the inflation target. in the course of 2005, we raised our policy interest rates by a total of 75 basis points and increased reserve requirements by 200 basis points. these were modest responses compared to other jurisdictions where their capacity is nearing to the brim and the labor market is stretched to the limit. yet they were decisive, considering the demand pressures were limited and the second round impact was yet to emerge. by the second half of 2005, inflation had started to ease. improving fundamentals, optimism and 2006 what then do we see in 2006. we continue to face uncertainties, but i believe the country ’ s improving economic fundamentals should give us a reasonable degree of optimism about 2006. economic activity, for one thing, is likely to continue at a reasonable pace, driven mainly by the services and industry sectors. nonetheless, the rise in oil prices over the past year is likely to take its toll on domestic demand, particularly on consumption spending. for this reason, the development budget coordinating committee is looking at real gdp growth in 2006 that is likely to be closer to the lower end of its target at 5. 7 percent. as for inflation, it is expected to be higher in 2006, given the continued upside risks. oil prices, for example, are expected to remain high relative to their historical trend and the rvat is likely to exert, at least a short - term, upward pressure on consumer prices. taking into account the recent easing of oil prices, as well as the strengthening of the peso, inflation is expected to hover between 7. 5 and 8. 1 percent in 2006. let me point out though that we do expect an easing of inflation in the second half of the year, as the impact of the rvat diminishes. meanwhile, improvements in fiscal performance, ample liquidity in the

in the latter part of 2021. meanwhile, inflation further eased in december 2021. on an annual basis, inflation for food, 1 / 4 bis central bankers'speeches alcoholic beverages and tobacco, and non - food items continued to slow down in december owing to easing supply constraints. however, prices of electricity, gas, and other fuels further increased amid elevated global prices of crude oil and coal. core inflation, which excludes volatile food and energy prices, likewise declined in december as supply - side price pressures abated. targeted non - monetary measures by the national government helped ease the pressures from supply - side factors. the consecutive quarters of positive year - on - year economic growth point to prospects of sustainable recovery. nevertheless, with recovery still in its nascent stage, the bsp is keen to maintain policy support for the economy. we will properly time our exit strategy as withdrawing support either too early or too late may have undesirable consequences to the economy. to date, the bsp ’ s liquidity - easing measures in response to the pandemic amount to 12 percent of gdp. the prevailing monetary policy stance is supported by a manageable inflation outlook and anchored inflation expectations. based on our latest baseline forecasts, inflation is seen to settle at 3. 4 percent in 2022 and 3. 2 percent in 2023, well within the official target range of 2. 0 to 4. 0 percent. however, risks to the inflation outlook appear to be slightly on the upside for 2022 but remain broadly balanced for 2023. over the near term, major upside risks include increase of global nonoil commodity prices due to strong global demand. additionally, we continue to monitor the developments surrounding typhoon odette to determine if it will have secondary effects on inflation. meanwhile, results of the bsp ’ s survey of private sector economists conducted in december 2021 showed steady mean inflation forecasts at 3. 5 percent for 2022 and 3. 1 percent for 2023. the domestic economy is expected to rebound stronger this year. the interagency development budget coordination committee ( dbcc ) sets its 2022 gdp growth assumption to a range of 7. 0 to 9. 0 percent from 5. 0 to 5. 5 percent last year, taking into account continued recovery prospects as more people get vaccinated and as more businesses rebound from the pandemic. meanwhile, overseas filipino remittances are seen to have reached a new record high of us $ 31. 7 billion in 2021 from