predecessor, governor rafael buenaventura was management man of the year in 2004 ; governor gabriel singson in 1998 ; governor jose cuisia, jr. in 2007 ; and governor jobo fernandez in 1989. another former cb governor, jimmy laya was once the president of map. for this award, and for consistently demonstrating trust in the central bank and the role it plays, maraming salamat po sa map. i cannot receive this honor without sharing it. with my wife, elma ; my children patrick and miko, eula and mia, whose support and encouragement allowed me to seek out my own true north even amidst trying times. i share this too with my grandchild zara who gives us much joy in the family. i pray that they would each continuously listen to their own internal and moral compass. with the men and women who with me, serve in the bsp with integrity, excellence and honor – members of the monetary board, officers and staff, past and present, who have ensured that the bsp stay its course, maraming salamat sa inyo. thank you all for listening. to the management association of the philippines, it is with deep gratitude and honor that i accept the award you have bestowed on me ; my family ; and ultimately, on the magnificent team that comprises the bangko sentral ng pilipinas. mabuhay at maraming salamat muli. bis central bankers ’ speeches

% 8 on march 30, 2009, before being raised back to the initial rate of % 18 on october 1, 2009. bis central bankers ’ speeches dear participants, so far i have touched on the impacts of movements in commodity prices on inflation and economic growth. now i will talk about the impact of fluctuations in commodity prices on foreign trade balances. the dependency of the turkish economy on energy imports makes the current accounts balance more sensitive to changes in commodity prices. uncertainties regarding the global economy in recent years and the exceptionally loose monetary policies adopted by advanced economies, such as the united states, japan and the euro area, foreshadow the high probability of continued excess volatility in commodity prices. in the face of these developments, we welcome the recent concrete steps, as part of the medium term program in turkey, towards reducing the dependence on energy imports by shifting to domestically produced and renewable energy sources. these measures will hopefully ease the susceptibility of the current account to commodity prices in the long run. the key question in the short - run is how to smooth out the impact of the commodity prices on the domestic economy in the short to medium term, while there is a heightened degree of uncertainty regarding financial and real factors. in turkey, ex - refinery fuel prices, in addition to the 18 percent - value added tax ( vat ), are also subject to the special consumption tax ( sct ). special consumption tax, which is not only a fixed tax but also comprises a major part of the final prices of fuel products, helps to smooth out significant fluctuations in crude oil import prices. thus, consumers are less affected by such fluctuations. esteemed guests, it seems that uncertainties regarding commodity prices will continue to be an important factor to be considered carefully in policy implementations in the forthcoming period, too. i believe that the papers presented in this conference will guide us in overcoming the policy challenges we will face along the road. thank you very much for your interest and participation. bis central bankers ’ speeches