the corporate recovery and tax incentives for enterprises or create law slashes corporate income tax and rationalizes the fiscal incentives system. in addition, three landmark laws were enacted to further open the philippines to foreign investors. these include the amended retail trade liberalization act, the foreign investments act, and public services act. during the last six years, the government invested heavily in public infrastructure. the goal is to make up for past neglect which earned the philippines the distinction of having one of the poorest public infrastructures in asean. from 2016 to 2020, infrastructure spending as percent of gdp averaged 4. 6 percent. in 2021, actual infrastructure spending reached php1. 12 trillion or 5. 8 percent of gdp. these numbers tell the story of the government ’ s commitment to improve mobility and create a better investment climate. one thing is obvious : the next administration will have a better state of infrastructure and a more robust economy. the next administration will receive a long list of implementation - ready infrastructure projects. a total of 88 infrastructure flagship projects for completion in 2023 and beyond will be up to the next administration to continue. taking all these into consideration, we are optimistic that the philippine economy will post an even better performance following a solid rebound last year. we expect the economy to grow by 7. 0 to 9. 0 percent this year, and by 6. 0 to 7. 0 percent next year. having said this, like the rest of the world, the philippines faces risks to its growth outlook. among which are deterioration in the covid situation and a prolonged russia - ukraine conflict. on covid - 19, the philippines is managing risks of potentially new variants emerging through sentinel surveillance and protecting the vulnerable population through accelerated vaccination. as of may 10, 68. 4 million out of the target 90 million filipino population have already been fully vaccinated. on the russia - ukraine conflict, the channel through which we see the most material impact is on domestic prices. but we expect this to be manageable. based on latest estimates of the bsp, inflation could average 4. 6 percent, slightly above the 2. 0 - to 4. 0 - percent target range this year before moving back to within the target band next year at 3. 9 percent. the bsp supports timely implementation of targeted non - monetary measures by the national government to prevent price pressures from broadening. these include direct financial transfers to vulnerable sectors, and efforts to boost domestic production and importation of certain food commodities. for its

representation and the potential to be heard in the sphere of global policy formulation. modernisation of the central bank as central banks advance forward into the future of great uncertainty, the challenge of the new environment demands new institutional capability for the central banks to remain effective in delivering our mandates. central banks also need to undertake its own transformation and modernization. such institutional capability enhancement may involve changes in the institutional arrangements, organizational and governance structures and practices, the empowering legislation and the talent required. such organisational development would thus require continual reinvention to adjust to the new realities of the changing environment. in most emerging economies, the largest concentration of talent resides in the central bank. in this new environment, this talent needs to have new capabilities to deal with complex issues from different perspectives that are no longer based on functional boundaries. while this involves horizontal collaboration across the organization, it also requires management of relationships including with the government while retaining the independence of the organization. this would require institutionalizing the channels for information flows, governance structures and clarity of accountabilities as well as the mechanisms for dealing with disputes. cumulatively, this would provide for a constructive relationship while preserving the independence of the central bank. an essential element in central banking that is paramount in an environment of great uncertainty is having a well - developed communication strategy. unlike the mature evolution of communication strategy in the conduct of monetary policy, central banks ’ communication with respect to financial stability is still very much in its early stage of development. indeed, the recent crisis has clearly surfaced the need for central banks and policy makers to design communication strategy that balances the objective of providing information to the market and the public, while achieving an optimal outcome of enhanced financial stability. conclusion allow me to conclude. the rapidly changing global economic and financial environment will continue to exert much demands on the central banks. while extensive modernization and transformation of central banks can be implemented at the national level, the increasingly interconnected and interdependent world demands a greater emphasis on global perspectives and considerations. the greater interface at the international level has involved enhanced engagement to concrete collaborative actions. the common objective is surely for an inclusive participation in the international financial system that will facilitate the common agenda for a self - sustaining global growth and development. thank you for your attention.