for instance, i learned that not even typhoon mario stopped the elimination rounds for the best finance teams. equally important, we value the agreement of the schools and finex to include ethical practices and social responsibility in the education of our finance students. i highlight this point because the natural pursuit of fostering a healthy bottom line should always be within the parameters of ethical and social responsibility standards. at work, market practitioners, leaders of banks and financial institutions have the power and the responsibility to strengthen the value of good governance among their employees by walking their talk. for institutions to be able to stay in their respective businesses for the long haul – whether they are private or government, three attributes are indispensable : excellence, integrity and good corporate governance. indeed, excellence, integrity and good values should constantly be a part of our life wherever we are, whether we are at home, in school, or at work. again, to the finalists in this 16th icfc, i salute you for being the best that you can be. while prizes go to those who top this competition, in my book, you are all winners. serve our country and our people well by developing into world - class leaders who are ethical and socially - responsible. i also thank the organizers from finex, jpmorgan chase and the other partners for making finance education and this annual icfc a truly exciting event for our schools and students across the country. this event reminds me of what the late american president john f. kennedy once said, and i quote : “ let us think of education as the means of developing our greatest abilities, because in each of us there is a private hope and dream, which, fulfilled, can be translated into benefit for everyone and greater strength for our nation. ” ladies and gentlemen, it is in this spirit that i ask that we continue to work together to nurture excellence in finance education. hanggang sa muli! mabuhay ang ating mahal na bansang pilipinas! mabuhay po tayong lahat! bis central bankers ’ speeches

benjamin e diokno : welcome remarks to the grips academic conference welcome remarks by mr benjamin e diokno, governor of bangko sentral ng pilipinas ( bsp, the central bank of the philippines ), to the grips academic conference, manila, 21 june 2019. * * * mr. takehiko nakao, president and chair of the board of directors of the asian development bank ( adb ), dr. akihiko tanaka, president of the national graduate institute for policy studies ( grips ), distinguished session presenters and discussants, grips alumni, faculty members and staff, ladies and gentlemen, good morning. welcome to the first ever bsp - grips academic conference. with the theme “ public policy for sustainable development goals, ” this conference is a special one as it is, in fact, a triple event. not only is this conference being held as part of the 70 years ’ celebration of central banking in the philippines, it also commemorates the 20th year anniversary of grips and the 40th year anniversary of its predecessor, the graduate school of policy science ( gsps ). for this, let us give ourselves a round of applause ( gov. leads everyone to applause ). as the samurai, yamamoto tsunetomo, said over 300 years ago in the book hagakure : the book of the samurai, “ wisdom comes from paying attention to wise people. ” and this, i believe, is what grips — and its predecessor gsps — has been doing over the last 40 years. that is helping us achieve wisdom by creating a venue where we can listen to wise people and hone the skills of policymakers worldwide, acquire valuable and innovative ideas to strengthen their knowledge, and formulate research - based studies to support worthwhile policymaking. all this using a comparative perspective and practical approach, with due consideration to japan ’ s wide - ranging experience and utmost consideration of country - specific issues and circumstances. needless to say, there are many wise people in this conference. browsing through the line - up of the paper presentations, i could also see many timely, relevant, and innovative policy ideas that may emanate from such discussions. from the impact of innovation in achieving inclusiveness ; the bsp ’ s role in the process of state building in the philippines ; to the relationship of financial literacy to achieving financial inclusion — these are rich subject matters worthy of much discussion. i leave this up to all of you to discuss policy and its practical implications in the ensuing