DOF chief urges process in picking next BSP chief

A systematic process of identifying the next Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) governor should be done to ensure that only a qualified individual would get the position, Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez III said. 

Dominguez said it is not only the BSP governor position that would be vacated but three other seats in the seven-man policy-making Monetary Board (MB) since terms of these three MB members will also end this year.

He was referring to outgoing MB members Armando Suratos, Felipe M. Medalla and Alfredo C. Antonio.

Dominguez said he has not discussed this issue seriously with President Duterte, but stressed that choosing the candidates should “go through a real good process.”

”I think that this is probably the most important appointment the President is going to make,” he said.

BSP Governor Amando Tetangco Jr.’s second six-year term will end on July 2. He is now with the BSP for about 42 years and has received numerous citations as among the outstanding central bank governors in the world.

Under the New Central Bank Act, the term of a BSP governor may only be extended once.

Tetangco was first appointed as BSP governor under the term of former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo in 2005 and was re-appointed by former President Benigno Aquino III in 2010.

The President earlier said he favors a third term for the BSP governor position.

Dominguez explained that the process of choosing the next BSP chief should start from understanding the job of the central bank, which is to ensure price stability and heed the inflation-targeting framework.

He said any decision on this “has to be seriously considered and I believe the President has to meet with and finally evaluate the qualifications of each and every potential candidate for each of those four positions open. We want a serious process that is fair to the Filipino people.

And it is fair to the candidates that each one gets a proper hearing, that each one gets a real appreciation.”

”The central bank is a very important institution in this country. We owe it an orderly transition. We owe the Filipino people an orderly transition in this very important institution,” he added.

Among the names that have come out as contenders for the BSP governor position are those of BSP Deputy Governors Diwa Guinigundo and Nestor Espenilla Jr., EastWest Bank president Antonio Moncupa Jr., and Foreign Affairs Secretary Perfecto Yasay Jr.