central banks and other authorities is clearly understood by the public. statements by the central bank and other authorities can influence people ’ s expectations and, ultimately, their economic decisions. sound and accurate reporting by the media therefore is necessary to help bring our message across to financial markets and the general public. we understand that covering the economic beat is quite challenging. unfortunately, it is also at times, thankless. rarely would you go home to your families and see them jumping up and down to ask “ so what happened in the world of economics today? ” economic news isn ’ t riveting, unlike political news or news about crime. but what you do requires just as much vigilance, patience, and diligence, if not more. economic numbers rarely tell the complete story when taken at face value. therefore, a responsible journalist who seeks to offer readers a fuller appreciation of the information will examine the figures within a broader context or against an array of other relevant indicators. given the facts on hand, a good reporter will know which leads to chase, and which to set aside, perhaps for another day, for another story. the objective is to understand what is happening – and why – so that the facts can be pieced together into a sensible and useful news report for their publics. bis central bankers ’ speeches indeed, we thank the media and, more specifically, ejap member for playing a crucial role in helping the public understand and stay abreast of current economic issues. with this in mind, let me briefly share two key issues in current discussions of monetary policy stance. disinflation the first is disinflation pressures. the overall impact of the significant decline in international oil prices will vary in direction and scope across the globe. while there were recent upticks, oil prices remain well below their levels in mid - 2014. in general, low oil prices represent disinflation pressures for oil importing countries like the philippines. we have already seen this in the slower inflation outturns in recent months. many have wondered why, given it has already lowered its own inflation forecasts for 2015 and 2016, the bsp stood pat on its policy rates and didn ’ t follow the other central banks that had earlier eased their policy settings. two reasons. first, unlike in some economies, the risk of inflation falling below zero or to negative levels in the philippines appears to be minimal. in fact, while our latest forecasts show a lower inflation path, we

envisioned national financial capability survey in 2020, we hope to see evidence of progress and determine opportunities for future work in financial education. i shared the updates to give a sense of the breadth of the work that still needs to be done, the areas where multi - sectoral support is needed, and the opportunities for partnerships. consider this my call to action. consider also the rags - to - riches life stories of “ tatang ” henry sy, sr. and “ big john ” gokongwei, jr. both left legacies of multi - million business empires. but let us not overlook that both started from small incomes, used their money well, practiced prudent financial and business management, and became the moguls we know them to be. every filipino might not reach the same success, but we can try to help them, and ourselves, to achieve comfortable levels of financial health. through complementary, coordinated and collaborative financial education programs, we must aim to change the life of every filipino towards a financially healthy future. in this expo, we hope to generate concrete ideas on how you and your institutions can be financial education champions and agents of change. to end, former u. s. president harry s. truman once said, “ actions are the seed of fate. deeds grow into destiny. ” as we act together, and gather critical mass, we can altogether achieve our desired destiny – a financially healthy nation. good morning again and mabuhay 4 / 4 bis central bankers'speeches