that appropriate risk management systems are in place to guard against potential credit and liquidity risks, among others. there should be no room for complacency insofar as risk management is concerned. i believe baiphil ’ s training programs on risk management will go a long way in addressing this need. ensuring the quality of your training programs on good governance is also important, as this counts as compliance to the bsp ’ s mandatory requirement for bank directors and key officers. as you are aware, weak governance and lack of transparency have been cited as among the causes of the continuing global financial crisis and economic downturn. there are other programs that i know baiphil can take on quite effectively, which are aligned with our special advocacies at the bangko sentral ng pilipinas. one of these is economic and financial education for filipinos. so far, we have institutionalized the integration into the public elementary school curriculum lessons on saving and money management starting schoolyear 2008 - 2009. this joint program of the bangko sentral with the department of education targets 12 million students, from grade i to grade vi, or nearly 90 % of filipino children in the elementary schools. this number will increase further as last month, the coordinating council of private educators association or cocopea also expressed its intent to teach saving and money management lessons to elementary students in private schools estimated at over 1. 5 million. we are therefore planting the seeds for nurturing a new generation of filipinos who save regularly and manage their finances properly. they are the future of our nation. they deserve our support. the bangko sentral has also started financial education programs on saving, money management, and investment options for overseas filipinos and their dependents. with baiphil ’ s support, we can cover more ground and extend our reach. this is one way we can express our appreciation to overseas filipinos whose remittances have kept the philippine economy resilient in the midst of the global recession. their monthly remittances have remained above $ 1 billion since 2006 and reached an unprecedented annual level of $ 16. 4 billion in 2008. in 2000, remittances for the whole year were just over $ 6 billion. latest data show that for may 2009, remittances coursed through the banking system reached a record high of $ 1. 48 billion or a yoy growth of 3. 7 percent. total or cumulative remittances for the first 5

. with this monetary easing and with the strengthening in the pace of economic activity in the second half of the year, we now project annual average growth of between 2 and 3 per cent in 2001. for next year, we see output expanding at a rate slightly above the bank's estimate of potential output growth of 3 per cent. consistent with the bank's expected path of output growth, core cpi inflation will likely average somewhat below 2 per cent over the remainder of 2001, then move back up to 2 per cent by the end of 2002. total cpi inflation is expected to be volatile over the next few months, before moving down to about 2 per cent by the end of the year if world energy prices remain close to current levels. i would now like to say a word about recent developments in financial markets. these developments have essentially reflected the increased concerns and uncertainty surrounding world economic prospects. in the circumstances, global investors have, once again, sought the safety and liquidity of u. s. financial assets. and this has led to an appreciation of the u. s. dollar against all major currencies despite the marked economic slowdown in that country. although the canadian dollar has remained firm against other major currencies, the decline in its value against the u. s. dollar until just recently has been the subject of much public commentary in canada. since the exchange rate is a key price in our economy, the bank recognizes that movements in its value can be a source of concern for canadians. i want to assure you that the bank monitors market developments very closely. and we carefully assess the implications of currency movements for aggregate demand and inflation in canada. in closing, let me reiterate that the bank remains generally positive about canada's economic prospects in the period ahead. we continue to expect a pickup in growth in the second half of this year and further strengthening in 2002. the main risk to this outlook is the timing and strength of the projected pickup in u. s. growth. given this uncertainty, we will continue to monitor developments closely and we will respond appropriately.