benjamin e diokno : financial inclusion - a social mandate speech by mr benjamin e diokno, governor of bangko sentral ng pilipinas ( bsp, the central bank of the philippines ), at the 2019 finex conference, manila, 11 october 2019. * * * esteemed members of the financial community, it is my pleasure to give this keynote address at your 2019 conference. your theme “ riding on the opportunities of the next digital wave ” is very timely as we are in fact in this wave. it is also very relevant to the topic of this keynote address which is “ financial inclusion as a social mandate. ” the fourth industrial revolution is upon us. this advent of “ cyber - physical systems ” represents new ways in which technology has embedded itself within societies and even our human bodies. it affects many aspects of business, society, and even day - to - day life in a significant way. in fact, technology is now in the hands of everyone. who among you remember the car - based mobile phone service of pldt in the mid - 80s? this technology, which was available to only a few in the 80s, has now grown to 124. 2 million mobile connections in the philippines. today — because of digitalization — anyone with a smartphone and internet connection can easily access information about almost anything under the sun in a matter of seconds. many of these technological advancements are now part of our day - to - day reality such as online streaming, electric vehicles, emv chip cards, and social media. however, despite favorable developments due to technology, many challenges persist. there is uneven access and the people who should benefit the most from new technologies are the ones who are still left behind. we see a similar gap in terms of the state of financial inclusion in the country. those who are in most need of financial products and services are the ones who are mainly unserved and underserved. based on the 2017 financial inclusion survey, only 23 % of filipino adults have a formal account. only 48 % of adults save, but 7 in 10 savers keep their savings at home. of the 22 % of filipino adults who avail loans, 4 in 10 do so through informal sources. as such, it is necessary to bring the unserved and underserved into the national economy. the signing into law of republic act ( ra ) no. 11211 of 2019 amending the bsp charter elevates financial inclusion and its complementary objectives of financial

benjamin e diokno : opening remarks - moa signing opening remarks by mr benjamin e diokno, governor of bangko sentral ng pilipinas ( bsp, the central bank of the philippines ), at the amlc and philippine amusement and gaming corporation ( pagcor ) moa signing, manila, 21 january 2020. * * * ms. andrea d. domingo, chairperson and chief executive officer of pagcor. atty. alfredo c. lim, ms. carmen n. pedrosa, mr. reynaldo e. concordia, and mr. gabriel s. claudio, board members and directors at pagcor. chairman emilio aquino of sec, oic erickson balmes of the insurance commission. atty. mel georgie b. racela, executive director of the anti - money laundering council ( amlc ) secretariat. guests from pagcor and colleagues from the amlc secretariat. good morning. it is my pleasure to welcome you all to today ’ s ceremony as we reinforce the ties between the amlc and pagcor. collaboration among agencies has always proven to be crucial in preventing and countering the abuse of the financial system domestically and globally. the latest national risk assessment notes a high sectoral money laundering threat among designated non - financial businesses and professions — including casinos which are highly vulnerable. similar to banks and other financial institutions, casinos undertake high - volume and high - speed financial activities but in the gaming context. being generally large cash - based businesses, casinos are competitive in its growth and susceptible to criminal activity. with internet - based casinos, casino junket operations, and reduced transparency of high - rollers, there is much vulnerability in identifying sources and movement of funds. thus, this calls for strict enforcement of and compliance to anti - money laundering and counterterrorism financing policies — urging the full cooperation of covered persons during the conduct of examinations — especially with the rise of philippine offshore gaming operators ( pogos ). both the amlc and pagcor appreciate the necessity of close coordination to accomplish the objectives of the anti - money laundering act of 2001, as amended, and the terrorism financing prevention and suppression act of 2012, thus promoting confidence in the integrity of the philippine financial system. with the policy of the state to ensure that the philippines shall not be used as a money laundering and terrorism financing site, the amlc, as the philippines ’ hybrid financial intelligence unit ( fiu ), is mandated to receive and analyze suspicious transaction reports