BSP, banks, stock market open today
National Day of Protest
The central bank and the banking sector will not be closed for the day, a declared “Day of Protest” by Malacañang, according to separate announcements yesterday.
The Philippine Stock Exchange also said it is business as usual today
The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) has confirmed that the regular Monetary Board policy meeting to decide benchmark rates and inflation forecast will still be held today despite the “non-holiday” but nonworking day for government offices.
“Thursday as usual is the Monetary Board policy meeting,” said BSP Deputy Governor Diwa C. Guinigundo.
The independent central bank, after some internal consultations, opted to open the BSP to banks and remain undisrupted by the suspension of government offices. In a memo issued yesterday, BSP Governor Nestor A. Espenilla Jr. said that in support of normal banking operations, there will be clearing and settlement, cash servicing and treasury operations today. It will also be a regular reserve day and “all reports due may be submitted on September 22 without penalty.” The BSP however is suspending all other operations.
“We’re working on business as usual,” according to BSP Governor Nestor A. Espenilla Jr. last Tuesday. “(To) the extent necessary to support market and bank operations.”
The Bankers Association of the Philippines (BAP) issued their own statement on Wednesday and assured the banking public that access to financial institutions will continue today.
“(We) would like to inform the public that all member banks will remain fully operational despite the suspension of work in government offices (today). Normal check clearing operations, trading and other financial transactions will be observed to fully serve the banking public,” said BAP.
The BSP has a scheduled eight Monetary Board policy meetings for 2017. The September 21 policy meeting was its sixth for the year. The central bank's policy meetings are awaited by financial markets as it dictates the direction of monetary stance or key rates and updated outlook on inflation path.
President Rodrigo Duterte chose to declare September 21 as a national day of protest, which also happens to be the day that the late dictator, Ferdinand Marcos, signed Martial Law or Proclamation No. 1081 in 1972 which plunged the country into military rule until January 17, 1981. Five years later, in 1986, the relatively peaceful People Power Revolution toppled the Marcoses and a new political elite led by the Aquinos, established a new democratic government.