It is independent because once [BSP officials are] appointed, it is hard to remove us. And it is independent because there is only one member of the Cabinet, usually the Secretary of Finance, who is represented in the [Monetary] Board.
For everything we know about how policy propagates through the economy, inflation today would be significantly weaker in the absence of our actions, maybe even dangerously close to deflation. But such counterfactuals are far too complex to lend true credibility to our actions outside of our narrow circle.