Central bankers can better understand the workings of the economy and have a better understanding of the issues and a deeper appreciation of policy outcomes if seen beyond their own lens. 

Anchored on this belief, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) on research collaboration with UPLB and the Ateneo de Manila University (ADMU) via video conferencing on Jan. 26.  

Collaborating with knowledge-based centers such as universities is in line with BSP’s commitment to responsible and responsive policymaking toward careful, rigorous, and independent research based on sound theoretical frameworks and solid empirical backing.

UPLB and BSP have identified financial literacy and policy communication as the initial areas where they can work together.

The MOU also provided for the creation of the BSP-UPLB Steering Committee for the said collaboration. 

Chancellor Jose V. Camacho, Jr. expressed UPLB’s commitment to sustaining collaborations that will catalyze and enhance the development of communities. 

According to him, this partnership with BSP will contribute to one of the four pillars of UPLB’s research agenda, “Accelerating Growth through One Research” or AGORA.

This new partnership is in line with AGORA’s thrust towards resilience, which seeks to advance a sustainable socio-economic development among communities.

“We are excited to carry out and explore many important activities and programs with the BSP such as the projects on policy communication and financial literacy among others that will really bring to the fore the expertise and mandate of both of our institutions” Camacho said.

Representing ADMU was its president, Rev. Fr. Roberto C. Yap, who expressed his belief that the combined strengths and expertise of this collaboration will not only produce relevant and useful research but also strengthen and cultivate respective human research capacities.

Present at the signing ceremony were BSP Governor Benjamin Diokno; Monetary Board Member Bruce Tolentino; former BSP governor, Amando Tetangco, Jr.; Assistant Governor and general counsel, Atty. Elmore Capule; Philippine Competition Commission chair, Dr. Arsenio Balisacan; former National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) director, Dr. Cielito Habito; and Dr. Joselito Basilio, BSP Research Academy’s officer-in-charge director.

Basilio said that working collectively with other knowledge-based centers can be an advantage in their expertise, skill sets, policy tools, and resources, to obtain new insights and instill lessons and craft sensible policies.

“We hope that the three institutions represented today, all of them research front liners in their own right, will benefit from the diversity of backgrounds, experiences, and perspectives, including the collegial interplay of ideas and thoughtful critiques of the issues at hand,” Basilio said.

BSP Governor Benjamin Diokno, in his closing remarks, affirmed the importance of collaboration and intellectual exchange in strengthening research, and thanked UPLB and ADMU for the institutions’ participation in this endeavor.

“May this mark the beginning of a long, productive, and collegial relationship toward building a body of high-quality research for our institutions and for the nation” Diokno said.

Attending virtually were representatives from BSP, ADMU, and UPLB. 

College of Economics and Management Dean Agham Cuevas served as UPLB’s witness in the signing of the MOU. (KEAraguas with reports from January 26 #UPLBToday photo news)