that the future policy actions of the bsp will continue to be guided by the following principles : 1. our primary focus will be price stability. 2. we will be pre - emptive rather than reactive and 3. our policy will be data - driven and evidence - based. finally, let me leave you with the assurance that the philippine economy is sound. it is one of the best performing economies in the world. its prospects are bright — extremely bright. and if you have money to invest, and i can see, some people here have money to invest, this is the best time to invest, invest, invest in the philippines. do not delay, do not waver. because if you do, you will regret it. to wrap up, let me end my presentation with these key take - aways. the bsp ’ s monetary policy actions will help ensure that 2019 and 2020 inflation targets are achieved. nevertheless, the bsp will remain watchful and vigilant, utilizing its analytical and surveillance tools for any potential risks to its monetary and financial stability objectives. the philippine economy has demonstrated uninterrupted economic expansion and has built domestic sources of resilience to help cushion against uncertainty in external environment and emerging domestic challenges strategic policy and structural reforms, addressing infrastructure gaps, and leveraging the country ’ s demographic opportunities have played a significant role and will continue to underpin the economy ’ s path towards balanced, sustainable, and inclusive growth. commitment to pursue infrastructure and reform agenda will help promote globally competitive industries in order to sustain the country ’ s economic growth momentum. lastly, on behalf of the bangko sentral ng pilipinas, i congratulate all the energetic and irrepressible members of the rotary club of manila, both young and old, for reaching 100 years! mabuhay ang rotary club of manila! mabuhay ang pilipinas! mabuhay po tayong lahat! 4 / 4 bis central bankers'speeches

, or real, price of many of the items which they produce has been declining, and that for a long period. the new zealand meat and wool boards ’ economic service tells me that between 1948 ( prior to the korean war boom ) and 1996, the inflation - adjusted price of lamb fell by 45 percent in the us market ; the price of dairy products fell by 55 percent ; the price of beef fell by 69 percent ; and the price of wool fell by 79 percent. i don ’ t know that anybody was noticing the price of kiwifruit in the us market in 1948, but i can still recall that in 1982, just 15 years ago, the orchard - gate price of new zealand kiwifruit was $ 11 per tray. nobody yet knows what we will realise in 1997, but if the orchard - gate price for this year ’ s crop is, say, $ 4. 30 per tray, that will be an inflation - adjusted fall in the orchard - gate price of some 85 percent in just 15 years - and that over a period during which the new zealand dollar has fallen quite substantially against the currencies of virtually all our trading partners, and especially against the japanese yen and the german mark, the two currencies of most direct relevance to kiwifruit exports. the basic reality is that the market price of kiwifruit has fallen substantially over that time. and in case new zealand exporters feel hard done by by this reality, remember that very substantial falls in inflation - adjusted prices are common for most commodities, and indeed for a great many other goods and services as well. productivity improves, and international competition often ensures that the benefit of that improvement is passed on to consumers, rather than retained by producers. reflect on the huge fall in the real price of computers - a fall which dwarfs the falls suffered by new zealand land - based exporters - or the price of television sets, or of motor vehicles, or of international air travel, or of long - distance telephone calls. large price falls are by no means unique to the products which new zealand exports. to remain viable, all producers must be constantly seeking new ways to improve productivity or add value, and if they do that successfully, they can maintain profitability despite a trend decline in prices. finally, apart altogether from the tendency for the prices of many commodities to decline in the long term, commodity prices tend to be volatile and in recent years this volatility has tended to swamp the impact of