, it is relatively better insulated now to ride out the crisis. the continued resilience of the economy and soundness of the banking system, buttressed by gains achieved from purposeful reforms ( past and present ), puts us in a good position to deal with adversities in the global environment. in addition, we are seeing pockets of improvement in the financial markets, which can help to build confidence and prevent a “ free fall ”. nevertheless, there is no room for complacency. we must continue to be mindful of the risks that could impede the growth of the philippine economy. we can learn a lesson from the little chicken in that children ’ s fable – like the chicken, we must be watchful of our surroundings. but, unlike the chicken, we must take courage. these are difficult times. if, however, we are armed with the correct information and an appropriate plan of action, we should be able to get out of this crisis stronger. in this endeavor, the bsp looks forward to the continued support extended by the consular corps. your work of promoting the dissemination of correct information about our country takes on a more critical dimension as we try to cope in these very trying times. thank you very much and mabuhay tayong lahat!!

amando m tetangco, jr : the philippine economy – building resilience in a time of uncertainty remarks by mr amando m tetangco, jr, governor of the central bank of the philippines ( bangko sentral ng pilipinas ), at the consular corps of the philippines ’ monthly general luncheon meeting, makati city, 29 october 2008. * * * minister and consul general sobashima, acting dean of the consular corps of the philippines, honorable consuls - general, officers and staff of the philippine consular corps, ladies and gentlemen, good afternoon. it is a pleasure to finally address the diplomatic community. your organizers would recall that we have been trying to get our schedules “ together ” since january this year. in fact, we were first set to meet in february, but something came up on my side. then in august, but something came up on your end. then, today. ( i suppose the “ stars ” have all finally aligned today, so to speak, so here we are. ) what ’ s interesting is during all this time, the markets have moved quite significantly. consider the table shown. i ’ ve compared some important financial indicators for feb 27, aug 27 – the two previously scheduled dates – and yesterday. you will note that all of these have turned “ south ” as they say. but more dramatically so in the last two months. the peso dollar exchange rate has moved from p40. 33 to p45. 73. yesterday it was quoted at p49. 105. at close of morning trade today, the peso stood at p49. 14. the 5 - year credit default swap spread, which is a measure of the market ’ s perception of the country ’ s credit worthiness, has more than doubled from 248 to 660 bps. the same can be observed on the spread over the rop30, which moved from 260 to 649 bps. the psei, on the other hand, lost close to half its value from 3, 105 in february to 1, 704 pts at yesterday ’ s close. the regional financial markets followed the same trends – regional currencies weakened, credit spreads widened, and stock markets declined. before any, or all of you cry “ the sky is falling ” – like the little chicken in that children ’ s fable who got hit on the head by a falling acorn, – let me share with you some good news : • even as the numbers