Vital signs

BSP Gov. Eli Remolona Jr. addressed the Tuesday Club, during its first meeting for the year.

- BOO CHANCO

I am an original but now truant member of the Club. I might have attended if I had received earlier the questions Joey Salceda prepared to ask the governor.But based on what Tony Lopez posted in our Viber group, I didn't miss much. Gov. Eli proved to be an experienced acrobat in evading real answers to Joey's questions. BSP governors, like the Federal Reserve Board chairman, always force journalists and analysts to read between the lines.

Mostly, Gov. Eli blamed loss of confidence across all sectors for our current problems, including the dismal economic growth in 2025. He suggested that other branches of our government, not the BSP, are responsible for the economy's worrisome vital signs.

But not so fast ... Joey Salceda has some questions and observations which suggest the BSP Governor may be too cautious and can do more. Publishing these questions now should elicit a discussion among policy makers at the BSP and guide the private sector in navigating our perilous economic environment.

Since I don't have the space for all of Joey's questions now, the rest will be in my next column.

Joey's first question: "Governor, M3 grew at 7.6 percent year-on-year in Q3 2025, while nominal GDP grew at roughly 5.4 percent factoring in 1.4 percent inflation.

"Bank lending expanded 10.5 percent, yet gross capital formation contracted by 2.8 percent. Credit card receivables surged 29.5 percent.

"Is our monetary transmission mechanism channeling liquidity into consumption and asset speculation rather than productive capital formation? Are we financing a consumption boom rather than an investment boom?"

Joey offers his insights on those questions.

"Import composition confirms this: consumer goods imports remain robust while capital goods imports are softening. We're borrowing to consume, not to build, the classic pattern preceding balance of payments stress.