President Marcos revealed that he had brought Benjamin Diokno to the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) as he thanked him for his service as former secretary of the Department of Finance (DOF).

Marcos said this as he officially announced that former senator Ralph Recto would take over the DOF on Friday, Jan. 12.

In a speech, Marcos expressed his gratitude to Diokno for his excellent performance in the agency as he extended his warm wishes for his return to the BSP.

“We cannot finish this event here this afternoon without a very heartfelt and warm wishes and gratitude to Secretary Ben Diokno for the services that he has given to the Department of Finance in his time as Department of Finance [Secretary],” he said.

Marcos recalled asking Diokno, then BSP governor, to take over the DOF to get the economy going and put all the policies on the right track amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Being one of our country’s pillars of economic management, we shall continue to rely on your expertise and exuberance as a member now of the Monetary Board [of the BSP],” he said. 

The President said he initially asked Diokno to join the Maharlika Investment Fund (MIF) and its management, but he begged off, saying that it is “not what he feels is a specialty of his.”

He was then offered to join the Monetary Board. 

“Once again, I cannot thank Secretary Ben Diokno enough for setting the economy onto the right path. He has guided us, he has put the essentials into place, he has made the structural changes that we need,” Marcos said. 

“And therefore, he has – these economic figures, the results that we are getting a lot of that can certainly be attributable to the work that he did as Department of Finance Secretary,” he added.  

Diokno is joining the BSP Monetary Board, replacing Peter Favilla, whose term concluded on July 2, 2023. 

Before his post to the BSP, Diokno served as BSP Governor from March 5, 2019 to June 30, 2022. He also served as secretary of the Department of Budget and Management (DBM).