debt management strategy. this will likewise support open market 3 / 5 bis central bankers'speeches operations of the bsp. this will promote financial stability by diversifying funding sources to support economic growth, and increase the availability of financial products. many of you were at the bsp last month when the bsp, in collaboration with the department of finance ( dof ), bureau of the treasury ( btr ), and the securities and exchange commission ( sec ), unveiled the local currency debt market development roadmap. as you know, the capital market reform agenda will initially focus on benchmark markets. the reforms will be undertaken over an 18 - month time frame from launch in november with specific targets for regulatory and institutional milestones. deliberately, we sequenced and calibrated the roadmap to ensure that urgent and foundational issues are prioritized. these include initiatives to 1 ) increase the volume of treasury bills, 2 ) provide stable, predictable and transparent issuance of government securities, 3 ) develop a systematic set of obligations, rights and incentives for market - makers, 4 ) establish a reliable yield curve, 5 ) introduce a repo program, and 6 ) strengthen regulatory oversight over the repo and fixed income market. even as we pursue efforts to deepen the local debt market, the bsp actively worked on improving access to investment products. for instance, the personal equity retirement account ( pera ) was launched late last year. this was done with the strong support of the industry. the program provides an opportunity for capital market gains to be enjoyed by a wider retail base. further, we continue to pursue a related legislative agenda such as the collective investment schemes law ( cisl ) to provide a harmonized legal framework for pooled vehicles of investments. given the philippines ’ young demographic profile, these efforts can also translate to the mobilization of a sizeable and sustainable amount of savings towards financing the country ’ s long - term infrastructure requirements and developmental programs. as part of our holistic financial sector reform agenda, we are pursuing ambitious foreign exchange ( fx ) reforms. the objectives are to deepen the fx market, increase its efficiency and reduce the cost of doing business. reforms include removing prior bsp approval for certain fx transactions, simplifying registration processes, further reducing documentary requirements, and enhancing data capture for effective policy decision - making. while the idea is to establish a framework that relaxes fx rules and regulations, we wish to stress that authorized agent banks ( aabs )

nestor a espenilla, jr : ensuring price stability through monetary policy presentation by mr nestor a espenilla, jr, governor of bangko sentral ng pilipinas ( bsp, the central bank of the philippines ), during the forum of the economic journalists ’ association of the philippines ( ejap ), manila, 28 august 2018. * * * secretary of finance carlos dominguez iii, dbm secretary benjamin diokno, neda directorgeneral ernesto pernia, dotr secretary arthur tugade, dpwh secretary mark villar, esteemed guests, ladies and gentlemen, a pleasant morning to all of you. i would like to thank ejap president louella desiderio, the economic journalists ’ association of the philippines for inviting me to share the bangko sentral ’ s views on inflation, as well as our game plan to address it. in the first part, i will dissect the numbers to identify the real drivers of the recent spike in inflation. i will then explain the bsp ’ s inflation outlook, or how we expect the inflation environment to evolve over the next two years. casting inflation against this proper context helps put into sharper focus the policy measures needed to address the issue. i maintain that not only have the bsp ’ s monetary responses been timely and appropriate, but that tempering inflation and its side - effects will require the coordinated efforts of various government agencies as well. let me begin with the recent inflation numbers. in the first seven months of 2018, year - on - year headline inflation averaged 4. 5 percent, well above the government ’ s target range of 2 – 4 percent for the year. as this chart shows, supply - side factors are the main drivers of overall inflation. these include rising international oil prices, higher excise taxes, and weather disturbances that affected food supply. meanwhile, in this next chart, we see how supply - side forces drive inflation on a month - on - month basis, with factors such as the recent increase in jeepney fares and utility rates contributing to the july inflation print. there are two important points that i need to highlight in this chart. the first is that the inflation momentum is slowing down, as headline inflation has generally declined in month - on - month terms from 0. 9 percent in january 2018 to 0. 5 percent in july 2018. in particular, after spiking in the first quarter of 2018, the month - on - month changes for electricity