BANKING and other business activities won’t be disrupted, even as the Philippines rolls out the red carpet for the three-day hosting of the Asean meeting next week, Senate President Aquilino L. Pimentel III said over the weekend.
Pimentel conveyed the assurance last Sunday that the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) has committed to help the business sector and the country “by keeping essential offices open during the Asean holidays” from November 13 to 15.
The Senate leader commended BSP Governor Nestor A. Espenilla Jr.’s announcement last Friday that the BSP’s Philippine Payments and Settlements System (PhilPass) and cash-servicing units would remain open during the Asean holidays.
Pimentel proposed earlier that the BSP considers doing the banking sector, the business sector and the country a big help by keeping the BSP’s check-clearing system up and running during the Asean summit.
According to the Senate President, “this is a positive development because it does not make sense for banking and business operations nationwide to be essentially paralyzed just because there is a three-day holiday in the nation’s capital; the Philippines, after all, is not just Metro Manila.”
Pimentel pointed out Espenilla’s directive, together with the decision by banks and the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE) to remain open during the Asean holidays, would ensure that, “the country will be open for business, not just open for Asean.”
At the same time, the Senate President affirmed that “if there are steps that can be taken to minimize the disruptions in the lives and the livelihoods of our countrymen, then, by all means, let’s do what has to be done.”
He noted that, while November 13 to 15 have been declared special nonworking holidays in Metro Manila, Pampanga and Bulacan as these areas would be most affected by Asean events, the Metro Manila Council earlier announced suspension of classes would be extended on November 16 and 17.