amando m tetangco, jr : moving the economy forward to a higher growth path speech by mr amando m tetangco, jr, governor of the central bank of the philippines ( bangko sentral ng pilipinas ), at the annual reception fo rthe banking community, central bank of the philippines, manila, 15 january 2008. * * * honorable justices of the supreme court, honorable members of the philippine congress, members of the cabinet, leaders of the philippine banking sector, representatives of our partner organizations, fellow workers in government, special guests good evening. on behalf of the members of the monetary board, i welcome all of you to our traditional annual reception for the banking community. ladies and gentlemen. as you have noticed, while we hold this event for the banking community, we do invite representatives from other sectors. this is in recognition of the important role the banking industry and these sectors play in moving our economy forward. while we decide and act independently of each other, at the end of the day, our policies, programs, and activities are bound to affect the others. in other words, no one acts in a vacuum ; we are interrelated. it is in this spirit that we bring you together within the storied and historic walls of our fort san antonio abad. and now, let me give you a brief overview of how our economy performed in 2007, our common report card in other words and how our future is shaping up, 2008 in particular. i am pleased to report that 2007 was indeed a remarkable year for the philippine economy, as it showed its resilience and ability to sustain its growth momentum, in the face of severe volatilities in global financial markets and record world oil prices. our economy, as measured by gdp, turned in its best performance in 30 years by expanding at a faster - than - expected rate of 7. 1 percent in the first three quarters last year. there are indications that this strong performance was carried through the fourth quarter last year, based on preliminary reports on agricultural output as well as the services sector which includes telecommunications and tourism. noteworthy is the fact that we achieved in 2007 …. the ideal convergence of high economic growth with low inflation, which at 2. 8 % is our lowest in 20 years. in turn, low inflation kept interest rates on a downtrend, led by the bellwether 91 - day t - bill rate which averaged 3. 4 % in 2007, the lowest level

filipinos and their dependents as well as students, starting with our grade i pupils. in this regard, we are inviting our banks and other institutions to join our financial education program by reproducing the materials we have developed to ensure its widespread dissemination. for your information, the groundbreaking joint program of the bangko sentral and the department of education calls for the incorporation of lessons in saving and money management for all elementary students – from grade i to grade vi – starting this june, for schoolyear 2008 - 2009. i call on all of you, therefore, to help make this a success. we believe that through this program, we shall be on the right path to nurturing a new generation of filipinos who are adept in managing their personal as well as their county ’ s finances. ladies and gentlemen, these reforms and initiatives will continuously propel our economy forward to ever higher growth paths. with your strong support and cooperation, we can continue to fortify the economy, making it more resilient to ride out unpredictable winds of change and able to deliver another productive year. together, let us continue to lay a solid and strong foundation for our country ’ s future. thank you all. and now, let us offer a toast to a better and strong year for our economy and the philippines as a whole. mabuhay!