Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) Governor Benjamin E. Diokno is on medical leave following an undisclosed head injury.
“The procedure went well and I’m now on my way to recovery. Meanwhile, I’m designating Francis Dakila as OIC BSP governor while I’m recuperating,” said Diokno in a message to the Monetary Board, his staff and people in the central bank.
The surgery was performed Sunday (January 17).
A BSP statement released Monday said Diokno has assigned one of his three deputy governors, Francisco G. Dakila Jr., to take over until he is well enough to return to work.
Diokno, who will turn 73 in March, has diabetes. He is expected to report back to work after a hospital stay of “three to four days.”
Dakila will be the OIC governor while Diokno “recovers from a medical procedure performed yesterday (January 17).”
“The Governor is on medical leave after undergoing a successful procedure to address a blood clot caused by a minor head accident.
According to his medical report, prognosis for the Governor’s complete recovery is ‘very good’ as he was awake and conversant an hour after the procedure,” said the BSP.
“He is expected to be discharged from the hospital in four to five days and is anticipated to return to work subsequently,” the BSP added.
The BSP is assuring the public that it “remains focused in promoting price stability, financial system stability and an efficient payment system.”
Diokno, the Duterte administration’s former budget secretary, was appointed BSP’s fifth governor in March 2019, about three weeks after the death of its fourth governor, Nestor A. Espenilla Jr., on February 23, after more than a year of battling cancer.
Dakila, a career central banker, was promoted to deputy governor position in July 2019, after the retirement of former BSP Deputy Governor Diwa C. Guinigundo.
There are three BSP deputy governors.
The other two are Chuchi G. Fonacier and Maria Almasara Cyd Tuaño Amado. The revised BSP Charter allows up to five deputy governors but Diokno's Monetary Board has yet to name the additional two.