Diokno as Monetary Board member: I’m now cooling down

MANILA, Philippines — Former finance secretary Benjamin Diokno says he is now on a cooling down mode as he was sworn in as the last member of the Monetary Board.

Over the weekend, Diokno took his oath as the latest member of the Monetary Board before Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) Governor Eli Remolona.

Such a role is not new, given that Diokno also sat on the Monetary Board in his capacity as finance chief, but that seat now goes to newly appointed Finance Secretary Ralph Recto.

Diokno also chaired the Monetary Board when he was BSP governor during the Duterte administration from March 2019 to June 2022.

“The President has spoken. On my part, with my new assignment, I will have more time for myself, my family and friends,” Diokno said in a statement.

“I will also have more time and space to pursue my own personal and professional goals that I’ve been postponing all these years,” he said.

The seven-member Monetary Board exercises the powers and functions of the BSP such as the conduct of monetary policy and supervision of the financial system.

“For the last eight years, I feel like I have run non-stop on a treadmill – from DBM (Department of Budget and Management) to BSP at the height of the pandemic, and then DOF (Department of Finance),” Diokno said.

“Now, I’m in the cooling down phase of that long run, which I think I truly deserve,” he said.

Apart from Remolona and Recto, Diokno will join Bruce Tolentino and Anita Linda Aquino, who are both serving the remainder of their six-year term. Diokno worked with them when he was BSP governor.

Also part of the Monetary Board are former national treasurer Rosalia de Leon and former finance undersecretary Romeo Bernardo, who are both said to have been recommended by Diokno to President Marcos last year.

As the country’s central monetary authority, the BSP enjoys fiscal and administrative autonomy from the national government to perform its mandate.

The primary mission of the BSP is to promote and maintain price stability, a strong financial system, and a safe and efficient payments and settlements system conducive to a sustainable and inclusive growth of the economy.