The Philippine Review of Economics

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Volume LIV No. 2 ISSN 1655-1516 December 2017

The Philippine Review of Economics

A joint publication of the University of the Philippines

School of Economics and the Philippine Economic Society Southeast Asia in the global

economy

Philippine inequality across the twentieth century Philippine policy reforms in infrastructure development The fiscal program in recent Philippine history

Amado Castro and gender equity in education Quality, equality and recent education reforms

Non-inclusive growth, the profit motive, and the case for inclusive business A memoir of the young UP School of Economics

Remembering Amado Castro

Amado Castro: economist, educator

The early years of the University of the Philippines School of Economics Dr. Amado Castro

A loving tribute to Dr. Amado A. Castro

Hal C. Hill

Jeffrey G. Williamson

Dante B. Canlas

Benjamin E. Diokno

Vicente B. Paqueo and Aniceto C. Orbeta

Edita A. Tan

Niceto S. Poblador

Gerardo P. Sicat

Benito Legarda, Jr.

Cesar E. A. Virata

Bernardo M. Villegas Zorayda Amelia C. Alonzo Editor-in-Chief

EMMANUEL S. DE DIOS

Editorial Advisory Board RAUL V. FABELLA

HAL C. HILL CHARLES Y. HORIOKA

KIAN GUAN LIM ROBERTO S. MARIANO JOHN VINCENT C. NYE GERARDO P. SICAT JEFFREY G. WILLIAMSON

Associate Editors DANTE B. CANLAS RAMON L. CLARETE LAWRENCE B. DACUYCUY FRANCISCO G. DAKILA JR.

CRISTINA C. DAVID JONNA P. ESTUDILLO

MARIA S. FLORO GILBERTO M. LLANTO ANICETO C. ORBETA ERNESTO M. PERNIA STELLA LUZ A. QUIMBO

Managing Editor HONLANI RUTH J. RABE

SPECIAL ISSUE IN HONOR OF AMADO A. CASTRO Issue Editors

ARTICLES IN THIS ISSUE

Emmanuel S. de Dios Emmanuel F. Esguerra

MEMORIALS

THE PHILIPPINE REVIEW OF ECONOMICS

December 2017 Volume LIV No. 2

ISSN 1655-1516 December 2020

THE PHILIPPINE REVIEW OF ECONOMICS

December 2017 Volume LIV No. 2

Volume LVII No. 2 Volume LIV No. 2 ISSN 1655-1516

December 2017

The Philippine Review of Economics

economy

Hal C. Hill

Dante B. Canlas

Edita A. Tan

EMMANUEL S. DE DIOS

MARIA S. FLORO GILBERTO M. LLANTO

ANICETO C. ORBETA ERNESTO M. PERNIA STELLA LUZ A. QUIMBO

MEMORIALS

Volume LIV No. 2 ISSN 1655-1516

December 2017

The Philippine Review of Economics

economy

Hal C. Hill

Dante B. Canlas

Edita A. Tan

EMMANUEL S. DE DIOS

MEMORIALS

Volume LIV No. 2 ISSN 1655-1516

December 2017

The Philippine Review of Economics

economy

Hal C. Hill

Dante B. Canlas

Edita A. Tan

EMMANUEL S. DE DIOS

MEMORIALS

Volume LIV No. 2 ISSN 1655-1516

December 2017

The Philippine Review of Economics

economy

Hal C. Hill

Dante B. Canlas

Edita A. Tan

EMMANUEL S. DE DIOS

MEMORIALS

Volume LIV No. 2 ISSN 1655-1516

December 2017

The Philippine Review of Economics

economy

Hal C. Hill

Dante B. Canlas

Edita A. Tan

EMMANUEL S. DE DIOS

MEMORIALS

Volume LIV No. 2 ISSN 1655-1516

December 2017

The Philippine Review of Economics

economy

Hal C. Hill

Dante B. Canlas

Edita A. Tan

EMMANUEL S. DE DIOS

MEMORIALS

Volume LIV No. 2 ISSN 1655-1516

December 2017

The Philippine Review of Economics

economy

Hal C. Hill

Dante B. Canlas

Edita A. Tan

EMMANUEL S. DE DIOS

MEMORIALS

Volume LIV No. 2 ISSN 1655-1516

December 2017

The Philippine Review of Economics

economy

Hal C. Hill

Dante B. Canlas

Edita A. Tan

EMMANUEL S. DE DIOS

MEMORIALS

Volume LIV No. 2 ISSN 1655-1516

December 2017

The Philippine Review of Economics

economy

Hal C. Hill

Dante B. Canlas

Edita A. Tan

EMMANUEL S. DE DIOS

MEMORIALS

Volume LIV No. 2 ISSN 1655-1516

December 2017

The Philippine Review of Economics

economy

Hal C. Hill

Dante B. Canlas

Edita A. Tan

EMMANUEL S. DE DIOS

MEMORIALS

Volume LIV No. 2 ISSN 1655-1516

December 2017

The Philippine Review of Economics

economy

Hal C. Hill

Dante B. Canlas

Edita A. Tan

EMMANUEL S. DE DIOS

MEMORIALS Editor-in-Chief

JOSEPH J. CAPUNO

Editorial Advisory Board EMMANUEL DE DIOS

RAUL V. FABELLA HAL CHRISTOPHER HILL

CHARLES Y. HORIOKA KIAN GUAN LIM ROBERTO S. MARIANO JOHN VINCENT C. NYE GERARDO P. SICAT JEFFREY G. WILLIAMSON

Associate Editors LAWRENCE B. DACUYCUY FRANCISCO G. DAKILA JR.

JONNA P. ESTUDILLO MARIA S. FLORO GILBERTO M. LLANTO

Managing Editor HONLANI RUTH R. RUFO

SPECIAL ISSUE IN HONOR OF BENITO J. LEGARDA

Issue Editors Emmanuel F. Esguerra

Diwa C. Guinigundo ARTICLES IN THIS ISSUE

Benito Legarda, Jr.: in his own

words and an appreciation Gerardo P. Sicat Dr. Benito Legarda, Jr. as

economic diplomat Cesar E.A. Virata

Economist, historian, and patriot: Benito J. Legarda 1926-2020

The nexus of nationalism and internationalism: the journey of a “diplomat” after the galleons

Yusuke Takagi

The Bullinger Pool in Burma,

1921 to the mid-1930s Maria Serena I. Diokno The BSP’s journey towards a

progressive monetary policy framework

Eloisa T. Glindro Marites B. Oliva Policy responses to shocks

and monetary effectiveness nder in ation targeting the Philippine case

Margarita Debuque- Gonzales

Global liquidity, global risk appetite, and the risk of credit and asset booms

Maria Socorro Gochoco- Bautista Optimal saving and

sustainable foreign debt Delano S. Villanueva Roberto S. Mariano Fighting COVID-19: patterns

in international data Roberto S. Mariano Suleyman Ozmucur

Volume LIV No. 2 ISSN 1655-1516

December 2017

The Philippine Review of Economics

economy

Hal C. Hill

Dante B. Canlas

Edita A. Tan

EMMANUEL S. DE DIOS

MEMORIALS

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Aims and Scope: The Philippine Review of Economics (pre) invites theoretical and empirical articles on economics and economic development. Papers on the Philippines, Asian and other developing economies are especially welcome. Book reviews will also be considered.

The pre is published jointly by the up School of Economics and the Philippine Economic Society. Its contents are indexed in the Journal of Economic Literature, EconLit, and RePEc.

pre’s readership includes economists and other social scientists in academe, business, government, and development research institutions.

Publication Information: The pre (issn 1655-1516) is a peer-reviewed journal published every June and December of each year. A searchable database of published articles and their abstracts is available at the pre website (http://pre.econ.upd.edu.

ph).

Subscription Information:

Subscription correspondence may be sent to the following addresses:

css@pssc.org.ph

pssc Central Subscription Service,

psscenter, Commonwealth Avenue, 1101, Diliman, Quezon City, Philippines.

P.O. Box 205, up Post Office, Diliman, Quezon City, Philippines 1101

PHONE: 922-9627, FAX: 924-4178/926-5179

Submissions: Authors may submit their manuscripts to addresses below:

pre@econ.upd.edu.ph or pre.upse@upd.edu.ph

The Editor, The Philippine Review of Economics, Rm 237, School of Economics, University of the Philippines, Diliman, Quezon City, 1101.

Manuscripts must be written in English and in ms Word format.

All graphs and tables must be in Excel format. Submission of a manuscript shall be understood by the pre as indicating that the manuscript is not under consideration for publication in other journals. All submissions must include the title of the paper, author information, an abstract of no more than 150 words, and a list of 3–4 keywords. Complete guidelines can be viewed in pre’s website.

Copyright: The Philippine Review of Economics is protected by Philippine copyright laws. Articles appearing herein may be reproduced for personal use but not for mass circulation. To reprint an article from PRE, permission from the editor must be sought.

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Emmanuel S. de Dios UP SCHOOL OF ECONOMICS EDITORIAL ADVISORY BOARD Raul V. Fabella

UP SCHOOL OF ECONOMICS Hal C. Hill

AUSTRALIAN NATIONAL UNIVERSITY Charles Y. Horioka

ASIAN GROWTH RESEARCH INSTITUTE (KITAKYUSHU)

Kian Guan Lim

SINGAPORE MANAGEMENT UNIVERSITY Roberto S. Mariano UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA John Vincent C. Nye GEORGE MASON UNIVERSITY Gerardo P. Sicat UP SCHOOL OF ECONOMICS Jeffrey G. Williamson HARVARD UNIVERSITY ASSOCIATE EDITORS Dante B. Canlas UP SCHOOL OF ECONOMICS Ramon L. Clarete UP SCHOOL OF ECONOMICS Lawrence B. Dacuycuy DE LA SALLE UNIVERSITY Francisco G. Dakila Jr.

BANGKO SENTRAL NG PILIPINAS Cristina C. David PHILIPPINE INSTITUTE

FOR DEVELOPMENT STUDIES Jonna P. Estudillo NATIONAL GRADUATE INSTITUTE

FOR POLICY STUDIES (TOKYO) Maria S. Floro

AMERICAN UNIVERSITY (WASHINGTON D.C.) Gilberto M. Llanto

PHILIPPINE INSTITUTE FOR DEVELOPMENT STUDIES Aniceto C. Orbeta PHILIPPINE INSTITUTE

FOR DEVELOPMENT STUDIES Ernesto M. Pernia UP SCHOOL OF ECONOMICS Stella Luz A. Quimbo UP SCHOOL OF ECONOMICS MANAGING EDITOR Honlani Ruth J. Rabe UP SCHOOL OF ECONOMICS COPY EDITOR Dinna Dayao

A joint publication of the UP School of Economics (UPSE) and the Philippine Economic Society (PES)

Aims and Scope: The Philippine Review of Economics (PRE) invites theoretical and empirical articles on economics and economic development. Papers on the Philippines, Asian and other developing economies are especially welcome. Book reviews will also be considered.

The PRE is published jointly by the UP School of Economics and the Philippine Economic Society. Its contents are indexed in the Journal of Economic Literature, EconLit, and RePec.

PRE’s readership includes economists and other social scientists in academe, business, government, and development research institutions.

Publication Information: The PRE (ISSN 1655-1516) is a peer- reviewed journal published every June and December of each year.

A searchable database of published articles and their abstracts is available at the PRE website (http://pre.econ.upd.edu.ph).

Subscription Information:

Subscription correspondence may be sent to the following addresses:

PSSC Central Subscription Service,

PSSCenter, Commonwealth Avenue, 1101, Diliman, Quezon City, Philippines.

P.O. Box 205, UP Post Office, Diliman, Quezon City, Philippines 1101

PHONE: 922-9627, FAX: 924-4178/926-5179

Submissions: Authors may submit their manuscripts to the addresses below:

School of Economics, University of the Philippines, Diliman, Quezon City, 1101.

Manuscripts must be written in English and in MS Word format.

All graphs and tables must be in Excel format. Submission of a manuscript shall be understood by the PRE as indicating that the manuscript is not under consideration for publication in other journals. All submissions must include the title of the paper, author keywords. Complete guidelines can be viewed in the PRE’s website.

Copyright: The Philippine Review of Economics is protected by Philippine copyright laws. Articles appearing herein may be reproduced for personal use but not for mass circulation. To reprint an article from PRE, permission from the editor must be sought.

Acknowledgements: The ^PRE gratefully acknowledges the financial support towards its publication provided by the Philippine Center for Economic Development (PCED). The Review nonetheless follows an independent editorial policy. The articles published reflect solely the editorial judgement of the editors and the views of their respective authors.

EDITOR IN CHIEF Joseph J. Capuno UP SCHOOL OF ECONOMICS EDITORIAL ADVISORY BOARD Emmanuel de Dios UP SCHOOL OF ECONOMICS Raul V. Fabella UP SCHOOL OF ECONOMICS Hal Christopher Hill AUSTRALIAN NATIONAL UNIVERSITY Charles Y. Horioka

ASIAN GROWTH RESEARCH INSTITUTE (KITAKYUSHU)

Kian Guan Lim

SINGAPORE MANAGEMENT UNIVERSITY Roberto S. Mariano UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA John Vincent C. Nye GEORGE MASON UNIVERSITY Gerardo P. Sicat UP SCHOOL OF ECONOMICS Jeffrey G. Williamson HARVARD UNIVERSITY ASSOCIATE EDITORS Lawrence B. Dacuycuy DE LA SALLE UNIVERSITY Francisco G. Dakila Jr.

BANGKO SENTRAL NG PILIPINAS Jonna P. Estudillo

NATIONAL GRADUATE INSTITUTE FOR POLICY STUDIES (TOKYO)

Maria S. Floro

AMERICAN UNIVERSITY (WASHINGTON D.C.) Gilberto M. Llanto

PHILIPPINE INSTITUTE FOR DEVELOPMENT STUDIES

MANAGING EDITOR Honlani Ruth R. Rufo UP SCHOOL OF ECONOMICS

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2017 OFFICERS AND BOARD OF DIRECTORS

PRESIDENT Jose Camacho Jr.

UNIVERSITY OF THE PHILIPPINES LOS BAÑOS VICE PRESIDENT

Majah-Leah Ravago

UNIVERSITY OF THE PHILIPPINES DILIMAN SECRETARY

Ronald Mendoza ATENEO SCHOOL OF GOVERNMENT TREASURER

Emilio Neri Jr.

BANK OF THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS MEMBERS

Victor Abola

UNIVERSITY OF ASIA AND THE PACIFIC Cristina Bautista

ATENEO DE MANILA UNIVERSITY Kevin Chua

WORLD BANK

Lawrence Dacuycuy DE LA SALLE UNIVERSITY Lawrence Fernandez MERALCO

George Manzano

UNIVERSITY OF ASIA AND THE PACIFIC Stella Quimbo

PHILIPPINE COMPETITION COMMISSION IMMEDIATE PAST PRESIDENT Rosemarie Edillon

NATIONAL ECONOMIC AND DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY

PHILIPPINE REVIEW OF ECONOMICS Emmanuel de Dios

EDITOR

COUNCIL OF ADVISERS Romeo Bernardo

LAZARO, BERNARDO, TIU AND ASSOCIATES Raul Fabella

UNIVERSITY OF THE PHILIPPINES DILIMAN Cielito Habito

ATENEO DE MANILA UNIVERSITY Ernest Leung

Solita Collas-Monsod

UNIVERSITY OF THE PHILIPPINES DILIMAN Cesar Virata

C. VIRATA AND ASSOCIATES

The Philippine Economic Society

Founded 1961

The Philippine Economic Society (PES) was established in August 1962 as a nonstock, nonprofit professional organization of economists.

Over the years, the PES has served as one of the strongest networks of economists in the academe, government, and business sector.

Recognized in the international community of professional economic associations and a founding member of the Federation of ASEAN Economic Associations (FAEA), the PES continuously provides a venue for open and free discussions of a wide range of policy issues through its conferences and symposia.

Through its journal, the Philippine Review of Economics (PRE), which is jointly published with the UP School of Economics, the Society performs a major role in improving the standard of economic research in the country and in disseminating new research findings.

At present the society enjoys the membership of some 800 economists and professionals from the academe, government, and private sector.

who pays the lifetime membership dues shall be granted lifetime membership and shall have the rights, privileges, and responsibilities of a regular member, except for the payment of the annual dues.

years of age or older who have obtained at least a bachelor’s degree in economics, or who, in the opinion of the Board of Directors, have shown sufficient familiarity and understanding of the science of economics to warrant admission to the Society. Candidates who have been accepted shall become members of the Society only upon payment of annual dues for the current year.

time college or graduate students majoring in economics. Affiliation for junior membership is coursed through the Junior Philippine Economic Society (JPES).

For more information, visit: www.phileconsociety.org.

BOARD OF TRUSTEES 2020 PRESIDENT

Emilio S. Neri Jr.

BANK OF THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS VICE PRESIDENT

Faith Christian Q. Cacnio BANGKO SENTRAL NG PILIPINAS SECRETARY

Charlotte Justine D. Sicat UNIVERSITY OF THE PHILIPPINES-DILIMAN/

PHILIPPINE INSTITUTE FOR DEVELOPMENT STUDIES

TREASURER

Sarah Lynne S. Daway-Ducanes UNIVERSITY OF THE PHILIPPINES SCHOOL OF

ECONOMICS

BOARD MEMBERS Rafaelita M. Aldaba

DEPARTMENT OF TRADE AND INDUSTRY Cristina M. Bautista

ATENEO DE MANILA UNIVERSITY Kevin C. Chua WORLD BANK Jovi C. Dacanay

UNIVERSITY OF ASIA AND THE PACIFIC Rosemarie G. Edillon

NATIONAL ECONOMIC AND DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY

Majah-Leah V. Ravago ATENEO DE MANILA UNIVERSITY Philip Arnold P. Tuaño ATENEO DE MANILA UNIVERSITY

EX-OFFICIO BOARD MEMBERS Lawrence B. Dacuycuy DE LA SALLE UNIVERSITY Joseph J. Capuno

UNIVERSITY OF THE PHILIPPINES SCHOOL OF ECONOMICS

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1 Benito Legarda, Jr.: in his own words and an appreciation Gerardo P. Sicat

35 Dr. Benito Legarda, Jr. as economic diplomat Cesar E.A. Virata

46 Economist, historian, and patriot: Benito J. Legarda 1926-2020 Jeffrey G. Williamson

49 The nexus of nationalism and internationalism: the journey of a

“diplomat” after the galleons Yusuke Takagi

69 The Bullinger Pool in Burma, 1921 to the mid-1930s Maria Serena I. Diokno

93 The BSP’s journey towards a progressive monetary policy framework

Eloisa T. Glindro Marites B. Oliva

116 Policy responses to shocks and monetary effectiveness under inflation targeting: the Philippine case

Margarita Debuque-Gonzales

The Philippine Review of Economics

Volume LIV No. 2 December 2017 ISSN 1655-1516

1 Southeast Asia in the global economy:

a selective analytical survey Hal C. Hill

37 Philippine inequality across the twentieth century:

slim evidence, but fat questions Jeffrey G. Williamson

61 Philippine policy reforms in infrastructure development:

a historical account Dante B. Canlas

88 The fiscal program in recent Philippine history:

looking back and looking forward Benjamin E. Diokno

100 Amado Castro and gender equity in education Vicente B. Paqueo and Aniceto C. Orbeta 110 Quality, equality and recent education reforms

Edita A. Tan

138 Non-inclusive growth, the profit motive, and the case for inclusive business

Niceto S. Poblador

Vol. LVI Nos. 1 and 2 June and December 2019 Vol. LVII No. 2

December 2020

ISSN 1655-1516

DOI: 10.37907/ERP0202D

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149 Global liquidity, global risk appetite, and the risk of credit and asset booms

Maria Socorro Gochoco-Bautista

170 Optimal saving and sustainable foreign debt Delano S. Villanueva

Roberto S. Mariano

200 Fighting COVID-19: patterns in international data Roberto S. Mariano

Suleyman Ozmucur

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Benito J Legarda

(August 6, 1926 - August 26, 2020) The truth, according to Beniting

In his novel Baudolino, Umberto Eco argues that literary worlds are exempt from any concepts about truth because the literary discourse “cannot be true or false, it can only be valid in relation to its own premises.” In the case of Dr. Benito

“Beniting” J. Legarda, truth is just a matter of fact, as in historical fact.

For we do not live in a literary world.

For instance, his comment about the venerable Fr. Horacio de la Costa’s assignment in Rome for many years in the service of the Society of Jesus (SJ) is typical Beniting, a statement of historical fact with some economic assessment of what is foregone: “It deprived us of much work that could have seen the light of day. Perhaps the Order felt that charity begins at home.”

Legarda helped guide public policy with his early and abundant exposure in the West. He admitted as a historical fact, and realized together with other young economists and statisticians from the government, private corporates, and the academe, that the growing Philippine economy after the war badly needed the production of critical statistics. The Philippines barely had a semblance of this body of numbers to guide public policy. One way of championing this cause was through the formation of the Philippine Statistical Association (PSA) in 1951, 70 years ago.

Two other Central Bank of the Philippines (CBP) officials were with Legarda as co-founders: Dr Enrique T. Virata, the first director of the Department of Economic Research, and his successor, Dr. Horacio C. Lava. Legarda was to succeed as director after Fanny Cortes Garcia.

In many informal conversations with his economic research staff at the CBP, he would narrate that there was limited discussion, much less debate, about the imperatives of economic thought to help guide the difficult task of nation- building. Politics was, without a doubt, dominant. Eleven years after the founding of the PSA, the Philippine Economic Society (PES) was formed from the original informal association called Social Economy Association composed of Legarda, Amado Castro, Quirico Camus Jr., Jose G. Fernandez Jr., and Armand Fabella, all graduates of what Gerardo P. Sicat called the “ancient university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA.”

Legarda was the third president after Fabella and Castro, after serving as editor of PES’ Philippine Economic Journal (PEJ) for a few years. In many of his recollections of these years with his staff at the central bank, Legarda would always stress what he believed to be the solution to many problems of Philippine society: economics. The truth was he contributed to the solution by strengthening the role of economics and the economics profession and its practitioners. Legarda helped by demonstrating the need for building institutions that produced statistics, performed economic planning and economic research, and project development and management.

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pocket was deep. His After the Galleons: Foreign Trade, Economic Change, and Entrepreneurship in the Nineteenth-Century Philippines (1999), a revised version of his doctoral dissertation at Harvard, demonstrated that the Philippines was a sub-optimal colony. The galleon trade did not transform the Philippine economy beyond being an entrepot of goods produced outside the Philippines like silk from China and gems and precious stones from India, a situation that resonates even today when Manila continues to be a transshipment point.

Legarda argued in his book that after the galleon trade ceased in 1815 for the Philippines, Manila started to nurture foreign trade with a domestic base.

Economic change happened, and entrepreneurship began to blossom. As Legarda nicely put it: “ The nineteenth-century Philippine economy did not start from scratch. The preceding Age of Transshipment dated back to pre-Hispanic times, and, during the centuries when it was in effect, a process of administrative unification and geographic consolidation took place that laid the groundwork for the rise of national consciousness.”

This economic history book was considered by no less than Fr. de la Costa as

“a patch of solid ground in a mushy landscape.” Legarda, in more ways than one, was also an able chronicler of the other key historical contexts in the Philippines.

His The Hills of Sampaloc: The Opening Actions of the Philippine American War (2001), Occupation ‘42 (2003), and Occupation: The Later Years (2007) are important additions to the literature.

Truth to Beniting Legarda are the trivial things during the two imperial occupations. In his books on the Japanese occupation based on his columns, for instance, Legarda documented that such consisted of the oppressive Japanese army; economic hardship; modes of transport after all automobiles were confiscated; tales of those who lived through the war.

But it was precisely those little things about the war, trivial to many, that comprised the truth of the period and the season, and to Fr. Miguel Bernad, in his commentary of Beniting’s books, “that from a cosmopolitan perspective, are no longer trivial.” Indeed, Fr. Bernad was very right; little things cast long shadows.

Beniting Legarda’s rare contribution was to cast the light on important timelines of our history from some economic perspective. But the truth is, his devotion to economic history and culture, to be consistent with his forthright assessment of de la Costa’s foregone contributions to Philippine learning, ate up his finite time from another equally important facet of his professional life as an economist: his contribution to economic research and monetary policymaking.

We are poorer by what Beniting could have written on monetary policy and its contemporary trends and dynamics.

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* Address all correspondence to gpsicat@gmail.com.

Benito Legarda, Jr.:

in his own words and an appreciation

Gerardo P. Sicat^*

University of the Philippines

1. Introduction

This remembrance is written in two parts.

In the first part, Dr. Benito Legarda Jr. writes mostly in his own words. We engaged in numerous exchanges by correspondence that he initiated as reactions to my weekly column on economic and social issues and other topics in the Philippine Star. In these exchanges, he parlayed his knowledge and perspectives as an economist, economic historian, and Filipino. Included in this section is the text of a short talk he delivered on the occasion of the launch of a book I wrote about another man of stature, former Prime Minister and Finance Minister Cesar E. A. Virata. Despite some references to me and my own work (for which I apologize to the reader), it is reproduced in full because in this talk, he reveals so much little-known biographical information about himself in his own words.

The second part of this essay is my own appreciation of him. We were long- time professional contemporaries in our service in the government and post- retirement. We worked almost in the same milieu and contemporary environment, although in different capacities and institutions.

Benito Legarda Jr., who lived up to the ripe old age of 94 years, will be remembered long as an economic historian par excellence, a central banker, and a Philippine cultural icon. He belongs to the important group of early post- independence Filipino economists and historians.

2. Mostly in his own words

Sometime in 2013 during a lunch gathering of former colleagues in the government, Benito Legarda surprised me by asking what happened to my column of two weeks before in Philippine Star. That was a unique day when I did not submit a column for publication. That was how I got to learn that he usually read and paid attention to my column. He began to write me comments on my column soon after he took part in the public launch of my book on Cesar Virata in 2014, where he spoke.