Travel Assignment Orders (TAO) and Official Travel Authority (OTA) will be fully automated in August 2002. Proceeds of travel funds will be credited to the employees’ automated tellering machine (ATM) accounts in lieu of over-the-counter encashment at the Cash Department.
Per Monetary Board resolution number 687 dated 8 May 2002, automation will be implemented in departments – such as Department of Rural Banks – with large number of personnel going on provincial assignments. The schedule of implementation as contained in the memorandum of Mrs. Teresita O. Hatta, Assistant Governor, Systems and Methods Office is as follows: May - June 2002 – update of software, quality assurance and documentation of procedures by the Information Technology Department (ITD); July 2002 – pilot testing; and August 2002 – deployment.
The ARBEX Executive Board decided to hold the first ARBEX Convention on September 27, 2002. The convention, aimed to promote unity and cohesion, as the association confronts several pressing issues, will be held at the Mezzanine Floor, Badjao Room of the Century Park Hotel. All officers are required to attend and members are invited to grace the event to share their thoughts and views.
In its May 23, 2002 meeting, the board deliberated on the issues to be brought before the attention of its members and decided to schedule the ARBEX conference. Professional, moral and relational concerns will be among the issues to be tackled in the said meeting.
Inspired by the successful get-together party early this year, Chairman Vic Berrey and immediate past Chairman Joy Lorico collaborated and recommended to the executive board the approval of the convention. “The summit will be a tough act but members’ involvement will make the task easier,” echoed the two leaders.
ARBEX marks its 15th anniversary this year and most members believe that the assembly will be the fitting culmination in its years of existence characterized by camaraderie, passion and commitment, not only to the cause of the organization, but to that of DRB as well.
Children of DRB examiners, together with the kids of other BSP employees have attended the 2002 Summer Workshop on painting and dance. For eight Saturdays, the kids did not only learn the basic skills in painting and dancing but also socialization skills through interaction with other children. The workshop, which has once again succeeded in producing budding painters and dancers, is one of the projects of the BSP Ladies’ Group and is offered free to all children of BSP employees.
The DRB kids participated actively in the painting workshop. They have been very enthusiastic despite waking up early in the morning because the ordeal was always capped by a hearty lunch at McDonald’s, Jollibee or Pizza Hut. Moms have jokingly complained that the workshop was not free at all considering their accumulated fastfood/restaurant bills.
The workshop concluded with a painting contest entitled “Save Mother Earth” and a dance presentation on graduation day in the afternoon of May 25, 2002. A Manansala-to-be was born that summer in the person of the 13-year old son of Doris Cardenas, Isidor, who was a finalist in the painting contest.
(Photo shows Isi Cardenas with his masterpiece and other participants Jyzyl Celeen Garbosa, Shaula Abbygail Manawat and Francesca Theresa Lorico.)
The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) celebrated its 9th anniversary in a simple rite last July 3, 2002. The program started with a flag-raising ceremony followed by the speech of Governor Rafael B. Buenaventura and a thanksgiving mass with Father Gerry Orbos as the celebrant.
In his anniversary address, the Governor commended the BSP community for a job well done by highlighting some of its major accomplishments. First, results of the Makati Business Club efficiency survey made early this year on various government agencies showed that BSP has once again topped the list. Second, even with an initial capitalization of P10 billion, the bank’s P73 billion remittance to the government coffers in the form of taxes and dividends has become one of the latter’s major sources of revenues. Third, the Governor has become the first recipient of the Asian Central Banker of the Year Award given by the prestigious Financial Times of London.
Now on his third year as BSP governor, RBB shared his thoughts and feelings as he called the bank the true guardian of price and banking stability. He further appealed for continued employees’ support as the bank gears for a vibrant financial community with the business sector’s renewed enthusiasm as shown by strong economic indicators such as the low inflation rate, low interest rates, record high international reserves and stable exchange rate.
Other anniversary highlights were the photo exhibit, raffles and ballroom dancing. The photo exhibit, showcasing BSP’s community service oriented activities, was prominently displayed at the five-storey building lobby. Cash prizes, on the other hand, were given away to the lucky employees whom five have won P30 thousand each, twenty with P20 thousand each, and ten with P10 thousand each while the non-winners went home with P5 thousand each. On top of these, a meal allowance of P165 each was given to the employees. The day-long festivity was capped with a ballroom dancing with free food and drinks, and which was hosted by the BSP Employees’ Association, Inc. Dance instructors enlivened the gala night, graced by BSP’s top executives Deputy Governor Armando Suratos, Assistant Governor Teresita Hatta and HRD Director Dominador Asperilla.
After a long period of having to borrow presentation equipments from other departments, the Department of Rural Banks finally acquired a multimedia projector, a document camera and a projection screen.
The projector, an Epson EMP 70/50 model, is compact and weighs only 3.1 kilograms, less than half the weight of the examiner’s Acer notebook computer. It is equipped with the most advanced features of the latest models of multimedia projectors in the market today.
The document camera, on the other hand, can capture the minutest details of documents and send the same as a high quality output to the projector.
With the acquisition of these new high-tech gadgets, officers and lecturers from DRB will be able to make their presentations more interesting and their lectures more effective.
The Association of Rural Bank Examiners (ARBEX), through its publishing arm The ARBEX Express, approved the holding of a “Vision and Mission” contest. The officers believe that an organization without its vision and mission is like a body without a soul. The winning vision and mission statements will serve as the backbone of the association that will further strengthen each member’s commitment to support one another in their search for professionalism in the workplace. The contest is open to all qualified ARBEX members.
(Ed’s Note: Contest rules are posted on Bulletin Boards.)
The BSP Cultural and Sports Committee has lined up various sports activities for the second semester of 2002. In consonance with the Governor’s directive of promoting sports, BSP has provided adequate budget for each club. The program is aimed to keep the employees in good health, thus reducing the claims for high cost of hospitalization.
Mr. Ernie Villareal, BSP Chess Club president, invites everyone to join the sports activities. He said he will entertain queries from interested parties on the details of the program.
Below is the sports calendar for the second semester of 2002:
Aerobics - July to December Fit walkers - August Road runners - August Badminton - August to October Table Tennis - August to October Fishing - August and November Basketball - September to October Billiard - September to November Shooting - September and December Chess - October