Economic and Financial Learning Program (EFLP):

A Reflection Paper
By: Janrei S. Agudos FM 3-A

As Nelson Mandela once said, “Education is the most powerful weapon which you can
use to change the world”. It is indeed indisputable that education can be our potent tool to bring a
positive outlook, and or change in our society. On this note, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas or
BSP conducted their webinar titled, "Economic and Financial Learning Program (EFLP)”. This
so-called webinar encompasses several topics in one (1) week video conferencing. Some of the
topics are the Role of the BSP and Recent Economic Developments, Personal Equity and
Retirement Account (PERA), Promoting Digital Banking in the Philippines, and among others.
However, in this paper, only the Role of the BSP and Recent Economic Developments and
Promoting Digital Banking in the Philippines will be covered. The succeeding paragraph will lay
down the learnings, realizations, and the like towards the subject matter.

It was a great pleasure and honor not just for me, but to all the attendees of the aforesaid
webinar, because of the wealth of knowledge inculcated to us by the resource speakers. On the
first day of the long-week webinar, the Role of the BSP and Recent Economic Developments
were discussed. It was an amazing discussion, I believe, since we already have the schema or an
idea of what are the roles of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas or BSP and the like. The following
ideas that I got from the webinar are the core functions of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas or
BSP (Price Stability, Financial Stability, and Efficient Payments & Settlements System). These
functions are the pillars of the institution that keeps them strong and firm. On the other hand, the
prices of goods are being measured through the consumer price index or CPI. Correspondingly,
we need to be reminded that we have to have a price stability in order for us to have a good
purchasing power, and that we can be certain whenever we make decisions. In the discussion, it
was also said that in order to have the balanced economy, the contractionary policy and
expansionary policy can be used to minimize the risks entail in the inflation. Furthermore, in
terms of the jurisdiction of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas or BSP, the organization [BSP] is the
umbrella institution of the banking institutions, and other financial institutions. Indeed, financial
stability matters to everyone regardless if you are an individual, corporation, financial regulator
or the Philippines as a whole. In addition, it was mentioned that the other functions of the
Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas or BSP are; issuer of money, manager of official reserves, bank of
banks, and a lot more. The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas or BSP provides the legislative and
regulatory framework, as well as the infrastructure necessary for the successful functioning of
financial systems in order to ensure secure and efficient payments and settlements of financial
transactions. The parties involved in the transaction directly benefit on this. Another aspect to
consider is the importance of effective and timely supply-side initiatives. The Philippine
economy is predicted to grow in 2021, but there are still headwinds in the form of COVID-19
outbreaks. The Philippine economy is regaining economic resilience in small, but steady
measures. With respect to the topic Promoting Digital Banking in the Philippines, here are
some points that are really imperative and valuable to remember. There are a lot of innovations
and developments in the technology to properly cater the demand of the banking industry.
Additionally, there is a digital framework that keeps the banking industry to be able to be on
trend, and to avoid the risk in their journey to digital banking.
 All the points above mentioned are vital for the consumers, especially now in our state of
living. I realized that it is imperative to feed your brain with lots of knowledge to be able to
weight things rationally, and that you would be able to make sound decisions. This in turns will
help you and your community wreck all the undesirable factors, and bring a positive change.
Financial literacy is a must today indeed. At this time of the virtual or digital era, there are
humungous amount of things to discover, and that we need to sort out which of them are relevant
and beneficial to us. I am truly grateful that I have learned a lot from the webinar that I will
carry out throughout my whole life. Above all, no one can beat a man with a wealth of wisdom.
Therefore, the webinar opened a lot of window of opportunities for me to delve into these
aspects aforesaid, and widen my horizon on the subject matter. As I end my reflection paper, I
would reiterate the quote that I have mentioned earlier, “Education is the most powerful weapon
which you can use to change the world”. Does it make sense now? Certainly!