Outgoing central bank head says economy in good shape.

MANILA, July 5 Kyodo

The outgoing governor of the Philippines central bank, Gabriel Singson, said Monday he is happy leaving the bank with the national economy "in good shape." Singson will be replaced by Rafael Buenaventura as head of Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas on Tuesday after serving four decades at the central bank. Singson has received praise for successfully steering the country through the Asian financial crisis. Buenaventura is a former high school classmate of President Joseph Estrada. He resigned as president of Philippine Commercial and Industrial Bank (PCI Bank) to take over the top post at the central bank. In his farewell speech to hundreds of central bank employees, Singson said that during his six-year term as governor, the bank was able to institute sound and objective decision-making that enabled it to lower inflation and enhance response to the financial crisis. "Despite continuing multiple threats beyond the ambit of monetary control, we were able to bring down inflation to an average 8.0% during this six-year period. The record represents a major improvement from the past," Singson said. The 5.8% inflation rate for June released Monday "is the clearest signal yet that we are coming back to the low-inflation environment that prevailed immediately before the Asian crisis struck two years ago," he said. He said through a "flexible and pragmatic" exchange rate policy during a period of extreme capital movement, the bank was able to deliver a market-determined but still relatively stable peso and was able to rebuild gross international reserves to an all-time high of 14.0 billion U.S. dollars. Market benchmark rate for 91-day treasury bills is also at 8.75%, the lowest since October 1994, he said. "All of these positive elements have contributed to a shorter economic slump and faster recovery in the Philippines compared to other crisis-stricken countries," he said, noting the 2.0% gross national product for the first quarter of this year.