For the sake of clarity, starting from fiscal 2000, if one assumes that an increase in money will feed into prices in accordance with the quantity theory of money, the average rate of inflation in terms of the year-on-year rate of change in the CPI would become 4.8 percent when one uses the monetary base and 1.6 percent when one uses the money stock.
In my previous stint as Budget Secretary, I was fortunate to have a hand in crafting and implementing the “Build, Build, Build” Program of the Government, which is aimed to usher in a “Golden Age of Infrastructure” in the Philippines. One of the key elements of that program is the establishment of a new government center on this very location.