amando m tetangco, jr : the 5th microentrepreneur of the year awards speech by mr amando m tetangco, jr, governor of the central bank of the philippines ( bangko sentral ng pilipinas ), at the launching of the microentrepreneur of the year awards program, manila, 11 may 2007. * * * magandang umaga po sa inyong lahat! ladies and gentlemen. the video we just watched and the inspiring message of our 2006 national winner ms. jennilyn antonio serve as further validation of the power of microfinance to liberate people from poverty and to transform them into industrious and self - reliant microentrepreneurs. these are microentrepreneurs who overcome challenges to become employers themselves and in the process become agents for economic development in their respective communities. again, let us give them a big hand! today ’ s event is special therefore as this is a gathering of our microentrepreneurs and advocates of microfinance, including the members of the board of judges of the citi microentrepreneur of the year awards, representatives from the microfinance council of the philippines headed by ms. mila mercado - bunker, executives of citi – mr. sanjiv vohra and mr. robert morse, fellow central bankers, my colleagues at the monetary board, our guests from the media, and other special friends of the microfinance sector. this is the fifth microentrepreneur of the year awards ( moty ) and the third time i am participating as co - chairman of the national selection committee. together with the other members of the board of judges, i have had a front row seat, so to speak, in watching microenterprises evolve and develop in various ways, in the different parts of our country. i have also seen this awards program evolve and improve in accordance with its objectives of recognizing outstanding microentrepreneurs and highlighting the role of microfinance and entrepreneurship in poverty alleviation and economic development. now, we have higher prize awards, more nominees, wider geographical representation and new award categories. credit for this goes to citi, the citi foundation, the microfinance council of the philippines and the bangko sentral ng pilipinas. friends, let ’ s give them a well - deserved round of applause! much

worth of imports of goods and payments. my fourth and last point – a strong and stable banking system – also offers a sound basis for optimism. our financial system remains sound and continues to effectively intermediate funds to productive sectors, thus promoting economic growth. the continued strong credit activities demonstrate the effectiveness of philippine banks in their role as intermediator of funds in the economy. banks remain sufficiently capitalized and past due ratios have also consistently declined over the years, giving banks greater ability to intermediate funds, manage risk, and maintain profitability. the stability and soundness of the banking system is being supported as well by the financial sector reform agenda of the bsp focusing on areas such as banking supervision ; cybersecurity and technology risk management ; anti - money laundering ; counter - terrorist financing ; and capital market development. our financial system remains sound and continues to effectively intermediate funds to productive sectors, thus promoting economic growth. the banking system likewise exhibits robust financial intermediation activity as its double - digit growth in bank lending helps support not only household consumption but also business activities, such as those in real estate, trade, manufacturing, and construction, among other sectors. moving forward in sum, the country has been making considerable progress towards achieving its macroeconomic goals. looking ahead, prospects for the domestic economy continue to remain favorable as domestic growth fundamentals are expected to remain intact. gdp expansion is expected to continue to pick up in 2019 due to the robust growth in the services and industry sectors. private demand is expected to remain firm, aided mainly by sustained remittance inflows and stable inflation. as more government infrastructure programs get underway, the positive spillover effects on private capital formation would also contribute to economic growth. from this position of strength, the bsp remains committed to continually upholding the highest standard of excellence in crafting policies, and thereby achieve our mandates. going forward, the bsp will continue to monitor price and output conditions to ensure that monetary policy remains appropriately supportive of sustained non - inflationary economic growth over the medium term. we will be even more proactive in promoting a regulatory environment that enables growth and innovation among banks and, at the same time, enhancing their ability to manage risks. admittedly, the philippine economy is not immune from risks arising from external factors. the global economic slowdown brought about largely by us - china trade tension and growing protection affect us all. but we are confident that the philippines will be one of the least affected economies because its growth is based on strong