benjamin e diokno : sustainable solutions for southeast asia ’ s recovery opening remarks by mr benjamin e diokno, governor of bangko sentral ng pilipinas ( bsp, the central bank of the philippines ), for adb ’ s southeast asia development symposium ( seads ) 2022 “ sustainable solutions for southeast asia ’ s recovery ”, manila, 15 march 2022. * * * good day to all. i am honored to join you today for the southeast asia development symposium 2022. before the pandemic, the philippine economy grew at an average of 6. 4 percent annually. poverty incidence dropped from 23. 5 percent in 2015 to 16. 7 percent in 2018. while the pandemic may have set us back on some of our goals, i am confident that we are on our way to regaining our pre - pandemic growth trajectory. there are two things fueling my optimism : first is the continued confidence in the philippine economy. the country continues to have a favorable medium - term growth prospects based on the stable outlook affirmed by majority of major credit rating agencies. second, we didn ’ t sit idly by during the pandemic but pursued game - changing structural reforms, from amendments to the retail trade liberalization act, public service act, and foreign investments act. we are also pushing for amendments to the implementing rules and regulations ( irr ) of republic act no. 10000 or the agri - agra credit act of 2009, which allows banks to lend to more types of farming communities and classify more loans as compliant with the law ’ s quotas. we are positive that the senate and house will reach a consensus and ratify the bill once session resumes on may 2022. i am confident that, with these game - changing reforms, we can achieve real change in the lives of ordinary filipinos through more and better jobs and more competitive economy. also, our financial digitalization initiatives, under the digital payments transformation roadmap, are enabling better payments processes and financial inclusion. moreover, the philippine central bank ’ s policies on sustainable finance are harnessing the ability of banks to drive a more sustainable future. aided in part by the bsp ’ s measures, the economy is showing signs of solid recovery, as shown by the 5. 6 - percent gdp growth last year. this year, we expect the economy to grow by 7. 0 - 9. 0 percent. looking ahead, the philippine central bank is laying the foundation for

average of 11 - 12 per cent over the past few years to 8 per cent in 2009. it is widely felt that what we are witnessing now is not so much a crisis in the financial system but a crisis of confidence on the part of household and businesses, and it is global in nature. the data coming out for the developed countries are shocking indeed. the u. s., for example reported job losses of over half a million in december, pushing the unemployment rate to 7. 2 per cent, the highest in 16 years. it is projected that unemployment in the us could soon reach double - digits. in germany, the unemployment rate now stands at close to 9 per cent : in the u. k., unemployment has reached ( 6. 0 per cent ) and in the e. u. it is 8. 4 per cent. to address the deepening recession and mounting job losses, most of the advanced economies are adopting enormous stimulus programs. • president - elect barack obama ’ s economic recovery and investment plan includes a fiscal stimulus of around us $ 775 billion, in addition to bank support programmes of another us $ 1. 5 - 2 billion. • germany has unveiled a major fiscal stimulus package which includes cuts in taxes and a programme of public investment infrastructure. • japan also unveiled a massive economic recovery package. • even china recently announced a new fiscal stimulus plan, of around us $ 586 billion aimed at boosting the rapidly slowing economy. our caribbean neighbours have also been seriously impacted by the financial crisis and the global recession. in jamaica emigrants ’ remittances ( the second largest foreign exchange earner ) fell by an estimated 17 per cent last year. an even larger fall is expected in 2009, along with a sharp reduction in tourist arrivals. there have been hotel closures and the postponement of hotel investment projects in the bahamas, the oecs, barbados and elsewhere in the region. late last year, the barbadian government unveiled an economic stimulus package aimed at protecting jobs and supporting the tourism industry. jamaica has also announced a stimulus package involving tax cuts, loan facilities for vulnerable sectors and infrastructural spending. here in trinidad and tobago, we have seen an interesting change in our circumstances over the past few months. our once thriving energy sector is facing sharply reduced external demand and anemic prices. oil prices have plummeted from over us $ 140 per barrel in june 2008 to around us $ 40 per barrel currently, while gas