benjamin e diokno : opening remarks - moa signing opening remarks by mr benjamin e diokno, governor of bangko sentral ng pilipinas ( bsp, the central bank of the philippines ), at the amlc and philippine amusement and gaming corporation ( pagcor ) moa signing, manila, 21 january 2020. * * * ms. andrea d. domingo, chairperson and chief executive officer of pagcor. atty. alfredo c. lim, ms. carmen n. pedrosa, mr. reynaldo e. concordia, and mr. gabriel s. claudio, board members and directors at pagcor. chairman emilio aquino of sec, oic erickson balmes of the insurance commission. atty. mel georgie b. racela, executive director of the anti - money laundering council ( amlc ) secretariat. guests from pagcor and colleagues from the amlc secretariat. good morning. it is my pleasure to welcome you all to today ’ s ceremony as we reinforce the ties between the amlc and pagcor. collaboration among agencies has always proven to be crucial in preventing and countering the abuse of the financial system domestically and globally. the latest national risk assessment notes a high sectoral money laundering threat among designated non - financial businesses and professions — including casinos which are highly vulnerable. similar to banks and other financial institutions, casinos undertake high - volume and high - speed financial activities but in the gaming context. being generally large cash - based businesses, casinos are competitive in its growth and susceptible to criminal activity. with internet - based casinos, casino junket operations, and reduced transparency of high - rollers, there is much vulnerability in identifying sources and movement of funds. thus, this calls for strict enforcement of and compliance to anti - money laundering and counterterrorism financing policies — urging the full cooperation of covered persons during the conduct of examinations — especially with the rise of philippine offshore gaming operators ( pogos ). both the amlc and pagcor appreciate the necessity of close coordination to accomplish the objectives of the anti - money laundering act of 2001, as amended, and the terrorism financing prevention and suppression act of 2012, thus promoting confidence in the integrity of the philippine financial system. with the policy of the state to ensure that the philippines shall not be used as a money laundering and terrorism financing site, the amlc, as the philippines ’ hybrid financial intelligence unit ( fiu ), is mandated to receive and analyze suspicious transaction reports

to the unprecedented nature of this crisis, our policy toolkit and regulatory space are far from exhausted. we stand ready to support the country ’ s continued recovery using the tools at our disposal. however, i would also like to point out that that these policy interventions didn ’ t happen in isolation. rather, these developments occurred against a backdrop of proactive reforms and policy actions over the years to crisis - proof the financial and economic system. while the pandemic may have sped up the pace of reform, these structural adjustments were well underway even before covid - 19 hit, allowing the bangko sentral to take a longer - term view of the rapidly evolving situation. when i took the helm of the central bank in march 2019, our reserve requirement ratio was among the highest in the world. that year alone, we cut the rrr by a cumulative 400 basis points – from 18 percent by the end of 2018 to 14 percent in 2019. this brought our rrr more in line with china ’ s 13. 5 percent. the 200 - bp reduction in april 2020 brings our rrr to the current 12 percent. even before the pandemic, i have made it my goal to reduce the rrr to single - digit level and shift to market - based instruments in order to manage overall liquidity. this goal remains to be in our policy agenda. likewise, the policy rate, which banks use as reference for their respective lending rates, was as high as 4. 75 percent when i was appointed two years ago. today, it stands at a record low of 2 percent. the other lofty goals that we have been pursuing even before the pandemic are the acceleration of digitalization and the widening of financial inclusion. i made it clear during my first year as bsp 2 / 4 bis central bankers'speeches governor that before the end of my term in 2023, i want at least half of all retail transactions in digital form and at least 70 percent of adult filipinos to own a transaction account. i ’ m pleased to announce that we are making great progress in achieving both goals. on the state of the economy … the philippine economy appears to have turned the corner and appears set for faster growth. gdp grew by 7. 1 percent in the third quarter of 2021 following a remarkable 12 - percent expansion in the second quarter. bsp staff predicts that the economy will grow by 7. 4 percent in the fourth quarter. the development budget coordination committee ( dbcc ) agreed.