Banko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) governor Benjamin E. Diokno was named global central banker of the year by “The Banker,” an international monthly banking, finance, and business magazine and online portal affiliated with the “Financial Times.”
Diokno, UP Diliman’s professor emeritus in economics, was recognized for “his efforts to help stimulate economic recovery and growth for the Philippines amid the COVID-19 crisis,” according to the Jan. 5 BSP article (https://www.bsp.gov.ph/).
The award — a first for the Philippines — celebrates officials who have best managed the growth and stability of their economies.
Diokno was also cited for pushing ahead with his modernization of the country’s banking system.
According to the same BSP article, Diokno said, “I am truly honored to be named The Banker’s global central banker of the year. This award recognizes the effort we at the BSP have put forth over this past year—amid extraordinary challenges.”
Diokno was likewise named Asia-Pacific central banker of the year 2022.
Diokno taught public sector economics, microeconomics, macroeconomics and special topics at the UP School of Economics for over 40 years. His research encompasses various aspects of public economics such as tax policies and reforms, public expenditure, fiscal decentralization, national budget, and public debt.
He served as adviser and consultant to the World Bank, Asian Development Bank, European Commission, and the USAID for work in the Philippines, China, and transitioning economies like Vietnam, Cambodia, and Mongolia. Diokno was secretary of the Department of Budget and Management (1998-2001; 2016-2019).
Diokno earned his bachelor’s degree in public administration (1968), master’s in public administration (1970), and master of arts in economics (1974) from UP. In 1976, he earned his master of arts in political economy from John Hopkins University in the United States. He later earned his PhD (economics) from the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs of Syracuse University in New York in 1981. Diokno was also conferred by UP with a doctor of laws, honoris causa, in 2017.