seizing opportunities – monetary & external policies on monetary policy, we adopted inflation targeting in 2002, in response to findings that the traditional macroeconomic relationship between monetary aggregates and prices had weakened. while inflation targeting is a more challenging framework, it represents a better way of doing things – it is more effective, it promotes greater accountability and it engages the public in the process. this is a guiding philosophy at the bsp – continuously developing better ways in terms of process and operations to achieve institutional objectives. under this framework, bsp has had good success. since 2009, inflation has been kept below the upper bound of the national government ’ s inflation target range. moving forward, we see inflation remaining on a generally low and stable path and within the target range of 2 - 4 percent, under our inflation targeting framework. in 2016, we further refined our policy framework by launching the interest rate corridor ( irc ) system to align our open market operations with the liquidity needs of the market. this will strengthen the transmission channels of monetary policy, boost domestic money market, foster real price discovery and further improve the intermediation of funds. low inflation has allowed the bsp to maintain policy rates at similar low and stable levels. this lowered the cost of doing business and the cost of consumer loans, factors that support and encourage economic activities. in the philippines, household consumption remains a key growth driver of the economy. the philippine economy is strong. gdp grew 6. 4 percent in the first quarter this year, one of the fastest in asia. this brought our record of achieving uninterrupted gdp growth to 73 consecutive quarters. meanwhile, we have been able to build our war chest of fx reserves because of strong of remittanes, export proceeds and bpo receipts. in turn, the presence of such strong buffers has 2 / 4 bis central bankers'speeches allowed us to continue with a policy of a market determined exchange rate policy. building fx reserves to a healthy level and allowing the exchange rate to absorb some of the external shocks are yet another set of responses to past crises. ladies and gentlemen. our experiences in the past two decades prove that challenges or difficulties provide compelling reasons to change the status quo. viewed in this context therefore, challenges and achievements are indeed two sides of the same coin. indeed, the country ’ s low and stable inflation, strong banking system and robust external position have not gone unnoticed by credit rating agencies and other third party analysts. the philippines ’ 24 positive credit rating actions

amando m tetangco, jr : two sides of the same coin – transforming challenges into opportunities speech by mr amando m tetangco, jr, governor of bangko sentral ng pilipinas ( bsp, the central bank of the philippines ), at the finex, map, mbc, pcci, amcham phil, eccp and cibi foundation, makati, 24 may 2017. * * * thank you for taking the time to organize and host this event and thank you for the testimonials! i share the recognition you are giving me today with my colleagues at the bangko sentral ng pilipinas and the monetary board whose members include finance secretary sonny dominguez, former dbp chairman and ceo freddie antonio, former economic planning secretary and economics professor phillip medalla, former bsp deputy governor and general counsel andy suratos, former bsp deputy governor and general counsel jun de zuniga, and former pdic president val araneta. this formidable group works together as members of team bsp. a team that is driven to excel by the singular vision of creating a better life for filipinos through sound monetary and banking policies. i also wish to take this opportunity to express my deep appreciation for the support and cooperation the leaders and members of your organizations have been extending to the bsp and me. you actively engage us in dialogues, meetings, and conferences to share your insights in the formulation and the implementation of our policies and programs. this is a crucial element in our operation as a central bank. thank you. indeed, the most significant achievement for any head of institution is to see the effective implementation of its mandate. in the case of the bangko sentral ng pilipinas, it means providing a stable environment for our economy through inflation management, as well as a sound and stable banking system through effective regulation and policy formulation. given our mandate, how does bsp measure up? well, you have been most kind and generous in expressing your opinions about me and the bsp. now, it is my turn to share certain highlights in the bsp ’ s performance, the challenges we faced and their ramifications, where we are today, and what we see going forward. two sides of the same coin ladies and gentlemen, we often hear economists use the phrase “ two sides of the same coin. ” the phrase is used to establish a linkage between two seemingly unrelated variables. today, i use the phrase