ladies and gentlemen, our sustained efforts at capacity building has empowered us to be effective at monetary policy and bank supervision. we have strengthened our strategic planning and budgeting processes to continue sharpening our vision. we have also sustained our best program by sending the best and the brightest of our staff to the best universities here and abroad, to ensure excellence and a global outlook among the future leaders of the bangko sentral. we want them to think big, to think new, and to think ahead while being immersed in the deep structure of their creative potential. we have persevered in our wellness programs to keep our staff going strong and motivated. we have streamlined our recruitment process by opening our doors more widely to promising prospective employees. we have also continued to review our benefit package to ensure that we are able to attract and retain our most valuable resource : our professional, competent, and dedicated staff. as we review our score card for another year of central banking in the philippines, i would like to believe that we have provided the leadership and the vision for maintaining macroeconomic stability yesterday, today and tomorrow. we continue to receive recognition for this and we continue to raise the bar further. for instance, i am very pleased that 17 more departments and offices will be receiving iso certifications next week, proof of our sustained program to align our processes with international standards. palakpakan po natin ang mga bagong iso - recipients natin! ladies and gentlemen of the bangko sentral. our pledged stewardship of the philippine monetary and financial system is of central value to the country's economic development. we have kept prices low, interest rates reasonable, the financial system sound and stable, and the payments and settlement system functioning efficiently. these are key elements in the resilient performance of the philippine economy. what more should be done? well, it is not enough that we succeeded last year and the years before that. for as long as millions of filipinos continue to live in poverty, we cannot rest we cannot stop. as we continue our work to achieve our mandate, we need to ensure that we possess the expertise and competence in all phases of central banking ; we need to develop greater sensitivity to signals which we should answer with better and more responsive actions ; we need to be swift - footed in adjusting to a dynamic environment ; and we need to further fine tune our ability to plan ahead. we also need to work on amendments to the new central bank act ( r. a. no.

instead, it is about the risks to the system from the possible build - up of risks. risks that could eventually spill over across stakeholders, products, transactions and sub - markets. we need therefore to be attentive to the possibility of downstream risks even when the picture upstream looks overtly robust and rosy. this is the challenge of prudently asking ourselves constantly “ what can go wrong? ” and to prepare accordingly for such possibilities. to us at the bangko sentral ng pilipinas, this is at the heart the very essence of ensuring financial stability. and, as complex a challenge as it may be, it represents our central policy framework moving forward. the environment we operate in is not static. and we envision that our reform agenda will remain dynamic as policy developments emerge and market needs arise. but, even as the components of this agenda can change, the ultimate and driving goal remains the same. our agenda will cover the basel accord on capitalization and other financial standards, as well as policy reforms on otc derivatives and financial market infrastructures. we also encourage banks to become more proactive in doing their part to broaden the reach of financial education. on its own, the bsp implements finance education programs across different age groups to empower filipinos to save, invest and manage their resources with prudence, to avoid scams and to protect their rights as bank customers. to us, financial education is valuable not only for empowering our people but also in enhancing the stability of our financial system. this should also lead to improvements in the savings rate in our country which lag behind that of our neighbours. certainly, our agenda moving forward calls for a collective effort as the ramifications and accountabilities cut across different financial institutions and regulatory agencies. in this period of change, it is important that we agree on the direction we want to take the system. and having agreed, the stakeholders must collaborate on working on such changes in ways and forms as may be required by circumstances, for the greater good. ladies and gentlemen. we have seen how successful cooperation between the bsp and the banking sector generated long - term benefits for our country and our people. for this, the bsp and the members of the monetary board thank the leaders, the management and the staff of the philippine banking community. maraming salamat sa inyong lahat! we also thank our guests from other sectors of our country for taking time to join us tonight. we are