. it is fitting that we are implementing these changes just a week after the assumption into office of president benigno aquino iii. he stood for change and received an overwhelming mandate from our people with a landslide win. palakpakan po natin si presidente benigno aquino iii! ladies and gentlemen, let us unite and join president aquino in making the changes our country needs to become a better place for all. as our theme says, let us keep “ moving forward through stronger partnerships. ” indeed, we should take our theme to heart, given the many challenges and uncertainties ahead. why do i say this? first, we are looking at varying and uneven pace of recovery across the globe. given global interdependencies and linkages, it could lead to slower growth over the medium term. second, the potential heavy influx of capital inflows, as risk appetites perk up, can also complicate monetary management. additionally, the rebound of the global economy could create upward pressures on commodity prices and fan inflation. there could be positive surprises to investor confidence, which could foster a stronger - than - expected improvement in market sentiment and prompt a strong rebound in investment and demand. third, there are risks to the inflation outlook. for these reasons, the bsp is watchful of emerging signs of inflation that could be disruptive to consumption and investment, and ultimately have a corrosive impact on the economy. one clear strategy in addressing these challenges is to forge and nurture greater partnership between the bsp and its stakeholders, through open communication. this is where your inputs, through your responses in the business expectations survey, come in. your responses enable us to discern public expectations on the general direction of economic indicators, particularly inflation, a crucial element in the bsp ’ s monetary policy settings. as in a jigsaw puzzle, each institution represents a piece whose absence will leave gaps that could adversely affect our proper appreciation of particular scenarios. this could potentially lead to weak or even wrong policies. it is important therefore that we keep on working together to gain clear perspectives that give rise to appropriate and timely policies. indeed, sound macroeconomic policies provided our economy with some insulation against the worst global crisis in post - war history. among the key elements that enabled the bsp to calibrate well - informed and well - guided policies during the crisis was the constant supply of information from you, our partners in the bsp ’ s programs. for this, we

13 percent of gold, then, at the very least, the value of vas is us $ 1. 0 trillion. exactly which va will be worth us $ 1. 0 trillion, we actually do not know. the other question is one of consumer protection - the extent to which the government and the central bank must educate the public and say, " we are allowing this to happen, but these are very risky assets. you should not put in money that you really need for many important things. " ongoing dialogue between regulators and market players in this ese, we would like to be updated on the adoption and usage of vas in the philippines. what exactly is happening on the ground? what are they being used for? to what extent should regulation apply? 2 / 3 bis - central bankers'speeches right now, our view is [ that ] the moment vas meet fiat currency or deposits, clearly, you have to be regulated. exactly what the form of regulation will be is, of course, evolving. our view is one of caution. when did we freeze the issuance of vasps? about six months ago. our view is a cautious one, but regulation should be open to potentially good uses. therefore, if you ban it, then you are not in a position to move in that direction. we hope that we can gain some insights from our speakers. i hope that we can have a fruitful, balanced, and productive discussion ahead. as i already said, the central bank is open to it but very, very cautious. the more we learn, the more we can handle it better. thank you very much, and i hope that it will be a very good afternoon and [ an ] interesting discussion. 3 / 3 bis - central bankers'speeches