well. the employment situation has likewise improved. the unemployment rate declined to 5. 8 percent last march from a peak of 17. 6 percent in april 2020. more granular data indicate that the quality of employment in the country is gradually returning to the pre - pandemic levels as the recent employment gains from wage and salary workers in private establishments posted significant improvements. foreign direct investments reached an all - time high last year of usd10. 5 billion. in the first two months of this year, fdis grew by 8. 0 percent to usd1. 7 billion. manufacturing activity has strongly rebounded, with the purchasing managers ’ index above the 50point threshold for the seventh consecutive month at 52. 8 in april 2022. all these came on the back of a whole - of - government approach to pandemic recovery. complementing the national government ’ s efforts, the central bank implemented its own covidresponse measures. we ensured adequate liquidity in the financial system and helped bolster domestic economic activity, overall liquidity conditions thus continue to provide support for the economy. the various liquidityeasing measures of the central bank have injected the equivalent of approximately us $ 41. 9 billion into the financial system. this is equivalent to about 11. 3 percent of gdp. as the economy recovers, the central bank will scale back its extraordinary measures, guided by its outlook on inflation and growth, state of public health, and domestic and global risks to the economy. in the imf - world bank spring meetings last april, the challenge of balancing the need to safeguard economic recovery and controlling inflation was highlighted. achieving that balance requires a well - calibrated and well - communicated exit strategy. for the philippines, economic recovery came sooner than expected. the economy grew by 8. 3 percent in the first quarter. we expect the economy to grow much faster in the second quarter, making the growth target for this year of 7. 0 - 8. 0 percent doable. moreover, employment is nearing its pre - pandemic rate. the strong rebound in domestic economic activity and improvement in the labor market conditions in q1 2022 provide scope for the central bank to continue rolling back the pandemic - induced interventions as defined under the central bank ’ s exit strategy. earlier, the central bank ’ s provisional advances to the national government – this is our version of qe – amounted to usd10. 3 billion - in 2020 and 2021 was down to usd5. 7

media and research - speeches the philippines : pursuing reforms, accelerating growth, reaching new heights date : may 31, 2022 place : malaga, spain occasion : 9th bbva seminar for public sector speaker : bsp governor benjamin e. diokno to the officers and staff of the banco bilbao vizcaya argentaria, guests from other banks, ladies, and gentlemen, good morning. it is my pleasure to provide you an overview of the southeast asian region with a focus on the philippines as an ideal investment destination. member - economies of the association of southeast asian nations - or asean - entered 2021 on an optimistic note with the containment of the pandemic that started in 2020. the accelerated vaccination efforts in the second half of 2021 allowed easing of mobility restrictions, thus boosting economic recovery in the region. in the case of the philippines, its 8. 3 - percent growth in the first quarter of 2022 made it the fastestgrowing economy in the region. nevertheless, risks exist. a prolonged ukraine - russia conflict may keep food and energy prices elevated, which may push up inflation and dampen growth in the region as most of our economies are net energy importers. the s & p global asean manufacturing pmi rose to 52. 8 in april from 51. 7 in march as business conditions in the region continued to improve despite protracted supply chain disruptions and broadening inflationary pressures. all asean countries included in the regional pmi registered growth in their respective manufacturing sectors, with singapore posting the fastest growth in manufacturing activity followed by the philippines, thailand, and indonesia. looking ahead, firms remain confident that manufacturing output will continue to recover. the philippine economy ’ s 8. 3 - percent growth in the first quarter, which followed the 5. 7 - percent expansion in 2021, already surpassed the pre - pandemic gdp level and exceeded the median analysts ’ forecast of 6. 7 percent. we expect our full - year growth to range from 7. 0 to 8. 0 percent this year and 6. 0 to 7. 0 percent in 2023 to 2025. growth in the first quarter was broad - based. on the supply side, all sectors expanded, driven by industry at 10. 4 percent, followed by services at 8. 6 percent. on the expenditure side, growth was driven by the 10. 1 - percent increase in private consumption, a stark reversal of 4. 8 - percent contraction in the same quarter a year ago. investments and external trade also performed