Albay 2nd district Rep. Joey Salceda (Facebook)


Economist-congressman Joey Salceda of Albay's 2nd district hailed on Friday night, June 23 Malacañang's appointment of Eli Remolona as the new Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) governor, as he highlighted the latter's "formidable experience". “I congratulate Dr. Eli Remolona for his appointment as Governor of the BSP. Dr. Remolona has formidable experience in modern central banking, from his stint in the Bank of International Settlements and from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York," Salceda said. "His appointment was widely expected by many in the banking and finance sectors, and is welcome news,” Salceda said of the erstwhile Monetary Board member. Salceda Dr. Remolona's appointment "should also signal the country’s keenness on certain recent developments in central banking, such as digital central bank currencies and de-dollarization". The Bicolano reckoned that Remolona is "the best person for these areas of development". Remolona will replace Felipe Medalla, whose term will expire soon. “Dr. Remolona was also involved in regulatory reform for much of his career, which signals a BSP that will likely continue to err on the side of caution when it comes to dealing with the banking sector," the chairman of the House Committee on Ways and Means further said. “The market will most likely test the new governor’s policy direction and will once he takes over on July 2. I also expect policy continuity from the highly successful balancing act of Governor Medalla to protect the peso without exhausting our gross international reserves.” “As a side note, the BSP governorship returns to Ateneo with Dr. Remolona’s appointment. The last instance that was the case, we had Dr. Amando Tetangco, who is widely regarded as the best central banker in Asia during his time,” Salceda added.
Remolona is a product of the public school system; he graduated valedictorian from V. Mapa High School. Meanwhile, the ranking solon noted that “There are challenges for Dr. Remolona to address the moment he takes over.” “The global market remains disrupted although some equilibriums are being created in key commodities, so it’s helping ease inflation. There are also jitters about the health of US financial markets," he said. “Dr. Remolona will have the very difficult task of protecting the country from external shocks and higher prices while providing enough policy space for growth. Dr. Medalla walked that tightrope skillfully. I am optimistic Dr. Remolona will also do so," Salceda further said.