Buenaventura struggles to stabilize the Philippines

It's a wonder that the Philippines is still afloat. Rafael Buenaventura, central bank governor, has steered it clear of disaster. But with a presidential election this month, an unimpressive line-up of legislators and the governor's term coming to a close, the republic faces an uncertain passage.

Rafael Buenaventura

THE STICKY MORNING chaos on Manila’s Roxas Boulevard seems a thousand miles away from the cool equanimity that pervades the top floor of Bangko Sentral Ng Pilipinas, which sits imposingly on the busy thoroughfare. The central bank’s governor, Rafael Buenaventura, Pa Eng to his friends – a nickname is de rigueur in the Philippines – is busy putting the finishing touches to a press release explaining in the simplest terms the difference between debt refinancing and debt restructuring.

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