BSP taps media, bloggers to boost public awareness

CEBU, Philippines — To further promote public awareness on vital economic issues and financial concepts, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) yesterday held a special learning session with members of the media, social media influencers, and information officers at One Central Hotel, Cebu City.

The activity was part of the nationwide public information campaign that BSP has been conducting every year since its inception in 2000.

“BSP aims to promote greater awareness and understanding to equip our stakeholders, the Filipino people with the knowledge and skills needed to make sound economic and financial decisions. This is aligned with BSP’s belief that economic and financial learning are integral to inclusive and sustainable growth,” BSP Cebu Director Sonia De Los Reyes said in her speech delivered on her behalf by Anna Charissa Castillo to the participants of the program.

She further stated that with the media, influencers and information officers as partners, the BSP is optimistic that their message will reach more Filipinos.

“It is our hope that this session will empower you to help BSP spread the importance of economic and financial education to your respective audiences,” she said.

Representatives from the BSP Department of Economic Research, Payment System Oversight Department, and Economic and Financial Learning Center hosted the sessions to provide the participants with a deeper understanding of the role of BSP to the economy, shared insights on economic development and provided an overview of the national retail payment system.

Joselito R. Basilio, Department of Economic Research Acting Deputy Director, discussed about the role of the BSP in the economy and recent economic developments.

He presented the three pillars of central banking in the Philippines, which include

price stability, financial stability, and efficient payment and settlement systems.

Price stability explained the concept of inflation and the BSP’s monetary policy, while financial stability discussed BSP’s supervision and regulation of banks and other financial institutions. Efficient payment and settlement systems, on the other hand, provided an overview on the role of the BSP on gross and retail payment activities in the economy.

The second session was handled by Mary Rose A. Contreras, Payment System Oversight Department Deputy Director, which tackled on the National Retail Payment System (NRPS).

The discussion focused on the continued effort of the BSP to foster a regulatory

environment supportive of financial innovations highlighting the NRPS as a framework that promotes digital financial ecosystem where individuals, businesses and government entities can take advantage of technology to enhance efficiency and reliability in transferring funds.