help provide sss with wider opportunities for investment diversification. finally, the bsp ’ s commitment to price stability will be key in preserving the purchasing power of pensioners and other sss stakeholders. we look forward therefore to closer collaboration between the sss and the bsp. i also wish the sss and its other stakeholders a successful partnership that will continue to bring timely and meaningful benefits to its members. once again, congratulations to the men and women of the sss on its 52nd anniversary and its continued success in providing social security for 28 million filipinos. mabuhay ang sss! mabuhay ang pilipinas! maraming salamat sa inyong lahat!

benefits to its members. clearly, there is synergy between the sss and our banking system. synergy also exists between the sss and the capital market. from the accumulated contributions of its members as well as earnings derived from its funds management, sss has become a major market player. i understand that the investment portfolio of sss as of the first quarter of this year had reached p220 billion. in addition, it has outstanding housing and salary loans of about p3 billion to its members as of march 2009. these are investments that have multiplier effects on the economy. the sss is also responsible for the entry of many new individual investors in the stock market when it extended loans to its members for investments in listed stocks. moving forward, the state of the economy, employment, the capital markets and the banking system are important factors for the sss in planning for its future. i will therefore give a brief overview of how these are developing. recent global developments let me start with the global economy that is still grappling with the financial turmoil that has triggered the most serious economic downturn since the 1930 ’ s. in the us and in europe, in particular, this has been a period of significant external shocks, financial stress, and, for some, massive loss of wealth and investments. fortunately, coordinated response among governments and central banks to address the global financial crisis and the economic recession has been producing positive results. in its latest assessment, the international monetary fund noted that the world economy is stabilizing and that there are clear signs that global growth prospects are reviving. however, the improvements are far from uniform across markets and countries. furthermore, the recovery is likely to be sluggish, in part because while global financial markets are improving, it is still not back to normal. thus, global economic recovery will likely remain subdued or muted for some time. for asia, there is a growing consensus that growth is likely to solidify going forward. against this global backdrop, how is the philippine economy doing? philippine experience : sustained resiliency in the case of the philippines, the picture is of sustained resiliency. compared to other asian countries, the economic slowdown in the philippines has been relatively moderate. in fact, while neighboring countries slipped into recession, our economy continued to grow, although at a markedly slower pace : 0. 6 percent in the first quarter this year to 1. 5 percent in the second quarter. at the same time, inflation continued