moved to ensure adequate liquidity in the financial system to support credit activities. the bsp extended provisional advances to the national government worth 10. 3 billion us dollars in 2020 and 2021, which was reduced to 5. 7 billion us dollars in january 2022. the national government has fully paid these advances ahead of the maturity schedule on june 11, 2022. the bsp also provided big banks extra leg room to extend credit via a 200 - basis points reduction in their reserve requirement ratio to just 12 percent. in total, the bsp infused to the financial system an amount equivalent to 11. 3 percent of the gdp. we have also started the normalization process for our policy rate through a 25 - basis point hike to 2. 25 percent last may 19. also, as part of the policy normalization process, the bsp reconfigured its government securities purchasing window into a regular intraday facility. the timing and conditions of our exit strategy continue to be data driven. it is a balancing act guided by several factors, such as inflation and growth outlook. a well - planned, well - calibrated, and well - communicated exit plan will prevent substantial market volatility, reduce potential spillovers, and sustain our recovery momentum. the philippines is also determined to maintain fiscal discipline. after posting a higher debt - to - gdp ratio as a result of massive spending for covid response, we are keen to return to our fiscal consolidation path. based on the fiscal program, the national government ’ s debt should go down to 60. 4 percent in 2024. it is worth emphasizing that our current level of debt - to - gdp ratio is well below the figure for other economies, some of which have debts over 100 percent or even 200 percent of their gdp. our external accounts are also healthy. our gross international reserves as of end - april this year stood at 106. 8 billion us dollars, equivalent to 9. 4 months ’ worth of imports. the received doctrine is that three months of import cover is sufficient. in line with the movement of other emerging market currencies, the philippine peso depreciated by 2. 62 percent to p52. 37 as of may 31 from its end - 2021 level. the bsp keeps its market - determined exchange rate policy and intervenes only to ensure orderly market conditions and prevent excessive short - term volatility in the exchange rate. moving on to the banking sector, banks continue to serve as a pillar of strength

media and research - speeches ph economy 2. 0 : reinforcing growth and continuity date : june 13, 2022 occasion : bloomberg philippines next summit — deciphering new horizon speaker : bsp governor benjamin e. diokno good afternoon. it is an honor and a pleasure to share the latest developments in the philippine economy. the economy has grown by at least 6 percent annually until the pandemic stalled the momentum. now, we have bounced back and returned to our robust growth path. expansion in the first three months was broad - based. agriculture, forestry, and fishing grew by 0. 2 percent, industry rose by 10. 4 percent, and services improved by 8. 6 percent. in addition, household consumption increased by 10. 1 percent, while government consumption grew by 3. 6 percent. exports and imports also improved with 10. 3 percent and 15. 6 percent expansion, respectively. with more relaxed restrictions, mobility indices improved from the levels seen at the height of the pandemic. as of may 30, mobility trends for restaurants, cafes, shopping centers, theme parks, museums, libraries, and movie theaters continued to show improvement. similarly, visits to transit stations likewise increased. against this backdrop, the philippine economy outperforms peers. its 8. 3 percent growth in the first quarter exceeded malaysia, indonesia, vietnam, singapore, and thailand. the employment picture has also significantly improved. from february to march 2022, 1. 5 million jobs were created, bringing down the unemployment rate from the peak of 17. 6 percent in april 2020. foreign direct investments are soaring. after hitting a record high of 10. 5 billion us dollars in 2021, net inflow of fdis jumped by 8. 0 percent to 1. 71 billion us dollars in the first two months of this year. manufacturing conditions have likewise improved. the s & p global philippines manufacturing purchasing managers ’ index reached 54. 1 in may this year, highest in over four years. consumer confidence is on an uptrend. consumer sentiment is less pessimistic in q1 2022 and more optimistic for the next 12 months at 30. 4 percent. similarly, the business confidence index rose to 59. 7 percent for the second quarter of the year and to 69. 8 percent for the next 12 months. the economic rebound may be credited in part to the crisis - response measures of the bsp. we deployed regulatory relief measures and extraordinary liquidity assistance to the national government. we also