FORMER Finance secretary Benjamin Diokno officially assumed the last remaining private sector seat at the Monetary Board on Monday after his successor, Ralph Recto, took over.

Diokno, who used to be part of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas' (BSP) policymaking body, returns to join current BSP Governor Eli Remolona Jr. and members Bruce Tolentino, Anita Linda Aquino, Rosalia de Leon and Romeo Bernardo.

The final member is a Cabinet official designated by the President, which is usually the Finance secretary.

Diokno was BSP chief from 2019 to 2022 after he was replaced by Felipe Medalla. Before that, he was Finance secretary under then-President Rodrigo Duterte.

In 2022, The Banker, a publication based in London, honored BSP Governor Diokno as the "Global Central Banker of the Year" for his successful navigation of the country's financial system during the pandemic.

Under his leadership, the BSP responded to the impact of Covid-19 on the economy, implementing decisive measures to mitigate its negative effects and pave the way for a recovery.

As Finance secretary, meanwhile, he directed the economic team to achieve three main goals: restoring the deficit-to-gross domestic product ratio to pre-pandemic levels, reducing poverty rates to single digits and attaining upper-middle-income status by 2028.

Diokno finished his Bachelor's degree in Public Administration from the University of the Philippines (1968) and earned his Master's in Public Administration (1970) and Economics (1974) from the same university.

He also holds a Master of Arts in Political Economy (1976) from the Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland, and a PhD in Economics (1981) from the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs of Syracuse University in New York.

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