Returning to the discussion of the economic outlook, let me turn now to the prospects for inflation. Prices of many commodities, notably oil, increased sharply earlier this year, as I noted, leading to higher retail gasoline and food prices. In addition, producers of other goods and services were able to pass through some of their higher input costs to their customers.
*  *  *  Mr. Gerry Ablaza, Mr. Gil Genio, the officers and staff of Globe Telecom and Innove Communications, fellow bankers, special guests, good evening. As head of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, the institution that oversees the banking sector, I am truly glad…efforts to develop innovative and efficient delivery systems for banking services continue in many fronts.