Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) Governor Eli M. Remolona Jr. announced the so-called Manila Manifesto, which has been agreed upon by the Alliance for Financial Inclusion (AFI)-member central banks, to forge closer collaboration, advance financial inclusion and innovation in a global scale.

Remolona, while revealing the manifesto on Sept. 14, also called for renewed efforts to push for all central banks’ sustainability agenda and to work together to overcome the risks and challenges of financial inclusion to improve access to credit and reduce global poverty.

The Philippines is currently the country-host for the 2023 AFI Global Policy Forum this week. 

Remolona said the country is one of the global leaders in financial inclusion but he acknowledged the gains “in varying degrees from country to country (but) there are also setbacks that we must reckon with” such as climate change.

The AFI manifesto basically is an agreement to set global standards in the pursuit of financial inclusion, and to "engage" with global-standards setting organizations. The manifesto was agreed upon last Wednesday, Sept. 13, in Manila, said Remolona.

The global forum, co-hosted by the AFI, is attended by 700 delegates from over 70 countries. AFI is the world’s leading organization on financial inclusion policy and regulation.

The discussions during the event covered a wide range of critical issues, including the disruptive potential of digital technology, the need for inclusive green finance, the persistent gender gap, the need to support youth entrepreneurs, and the role of financial inclusion in uplifting forcibly displaced people, said the BSP.

In a press briefing that followed the forum’s opening dialogues, Remolona said the AFI forum is important for the country because it is one of the first members of global group. However this is the first time that the country is hosting the forum. The discussions during the forum will decidedly advance financial inclusion programs across the regions.

Meanwhile, AFI Executive Director Dr. Alfred Hannig said BSP is one of AFI’s “substantive” supporter since it was created 15 years ago. “Our members have brought over 840 million people into the financial system via enlightened national policies and strategies on financial inclusion,” he said.

“Yet a quarter of adults remain excluded and vulnerable. By convening the global AFI Network in Manila, we can galvanise efforts to achieve full inclusion which leaves no one behind,” he added.

During the press briefing, Hannig said the forum in the Philippines “is very timely” and all groups within AFI have agreed to commit “100 percent” to implement the manifesto for a more enhanced global collaboration.

The BSP said there are still 1.4 billion people that are excluded from the formal financial system and AFI will tackle this issue once again during the forum with central banks, ministries of finance, and financial regulators.

“Given the difficult challenges facing the world today, there is a compelling need for us to continue to share, support, and learn from one another on how we can lift more people out of poverty through financial inclusion,” said Remolona.

The forum will also give out the 2023 AFI Global Financial Inclusion Awards on Friday, Sept. 15. 

Among the recognitions to be conferred is the Financial Inclusion Innovation Award, in honor and memory of the late BSP Governor Nestor A. Espenilla Jr., a founding member of AFI. 

Espenilla passed away in 2019 but not before he started BSP’s digitalization journey to expand financial inclusion and merge it with innovation.