Duterte trims choice for next BSP head to 2

DAVAO CITY, Philippines —President Duterte has reportedly trimmed down to the  current two deputy governors of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas as possibly the next BSP governor replacing Amando Tetangco, who will finish his second term of office on July 2, ending 12 years of successful management of the central bank.

“It is between the two deputy governors. The two weigh heavily for the post. It is not so much from the outside. The choice is between the two insiders,” a source close to President Duterte told The STAR.

Another source said the President is going through the credentials of the two deputy governors, Diwa Guinigundo and Nestor Espenilla, who are from within the career ranks of the central bank and have both served as Tetangco’s deputies.

A continuity of the existing monetary policy is reportedly the key for the selection process of who would replace Tetangco, who bows out of office after 40 years serving the central bank in various capacities, the last 12 years of which as BSP governor. 

The selection process reportedly started as late last year but went full blast last February when it was already clear Tetangco could no longer serve an extension of his term.

The President is expected to  name who will succeed Tetangco as July 2 draws near,  one who will be able to  see the need to protect the country’s economy, considered to be among the world’s fastest-growing, from risks including higher US interest rates and projected capital outflows. 

Guinigundo, 62, a graduate of the London School of Economics and has a doctorate degree in economics from the University of the Philippines, also worked with the International Monetary Fund. He started his central banking career in 1978 and has been deputy governor and head of the monetary stability unit since 2005.

Guinigundo has also  been a public face of the BSP explaining macroeconomic developments as they affect the Philippine economy as he would eventually translate them in terms of their monetary implications.

The 58-year old Espenilla,  on the other hand,  earned a master’s degree from the Graduate Institute of Policy in Tokyo and also had a stint at the IMF before joining  the BSP  in 1981 and has been deputy governor since 2005. 

Espenilla headed the central bank’s  unit that oversees banks, pushing for the entry of more foreign lenders and encouraged mergers and acquisitions.