That’s right Virginia! A series of whirlwind of developments recently passed us. To some ‘twas tumultuous, to others, it was a much welcome development as well as a paradigm shift. There’s the “Love Philippines” mood video scandal that continues to develop. This controversial news riled up our interest and we’re keenly watching how it unfolds. Another development, which I will not categorize as whirlwind, but it was in my books as it swept me off my feet, considering that the waiting game for his appointment was comparatively long and then, voila in a week’s time Mr. Eli Remolona is now the chairman of the Monetary Board, the policy-making body of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilpinas (BSP). Before we go into “specifics” as Gov. Felipe “Philip” Medalla puts it in his valedictory address, allow me to share with you behind the scene happenings during the turnover. At room 501, everyone was excited and taken aback with the presence of TV-host, actor Luis Philippe Santos Manzano or more popularly known as Lucky. Curious? Lucky neither performed nor hosted the turnover ceremony. He was there because he is “kamag-anak” of Gov. Eli. Seriously, Jessy Mendiola, the wife of Lucky, is the niece of the newly minted governor. Lahing artistahin! Another name floating along the BSP corridors is Pia Roman-Tayag. My lion’s ear heard that Ms. Pia, who is currently on leave from the BSP, will be coming back home to be Gov. Eli’s chief of staff. At the moment, Ms. Pia works as a director for Her Majesty Queen Maxima of The Netherlands. The Queen is the UN Secretary-General’s Special Advocate for Inclusive Finance for Development. Prior to her posting, Ms. Pia was the head of BSP’s Inclusive Finance Advocacy Staff. Now for more serious stuff. In boxing matches, it’s called the tale of the tape. Both are in the prime of their lives at over 70 wearing white hair wisdom and dye-in-the cast economic professors. In contrast, though, the predecessor prefers a lengthy explanation to an issue, which in the course of discussion would branch out to other interrelated topics. The successor, on the other hand, is brief and precise. To illustrate, Gov. Philip’s farewell speech was 10 pages long to Gov. Eli’s acceptance speech of only two pages in double space at that. Forthright as he is, before Gov. Philip forewarned his successor to “wait just a little bit more” simply because his farewell address may take “an hour, maybe half an hour,” which virtually brought the house down. He went on describing his ascendancy in the BSP ladder as an “unusual thing” recalling the 12 straight years of Gov. Amando “Say” Tetangco, Jr. and in the last six years the BSP was steered by three governors, including himself. For his acceptance speech, Gov. Eli may be brief but thorough in his thrust, just two, and he was speaking in Taglish – Tagalog and English. Seriously, now, I was a bit flabbergasted as he speaks eloquent Tagalog despite living abroad for nearly half of his life. Good natured as he is, Gov. Eli ended up by quoting from the BSP Hymn “Ang layunin mo ay sadyang wagas, Antas ng buhay ay iyong itaas, Sa kaunlarang di magwawakas.” And then jokingly told the BSPers “you’ll thank me for not singing it.” Salud Gov. Philip for a job well done, amidst trying times, and welcome aboard Gov. Eli. Talkback to me at [[email protected]](mailto:[email protected])