Malacañang yesterday mourned the loss of Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas Gov. Nestor Espenilla Jr., thanking the banking official for his “great service to the nation.”
“We are saddened to learn Saturday night the untimely demise of Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas Gov. Nestor Espenilla Jr.,” presidential spokesman Salvador Panelo said in a statement. “As we express our condolences to the family, friends, colleagues, and loved ones of Gov. Espenilla, we express our gratitude to the man once in charge of disciplining banks for his complete devotion to his work and great service to the nation,” he added.
Espenilla, appointed as BSP governor by President Duterte in 2017, passed away Saturday amid his battle against cancer. He was 60.
Panelo remembered Espenilla’s rise to the BSP leadership as well his contributions to the improvement of the country’s banking system.
He said Espenilla was named BSP governor after nearly 40 years of service in the institution starting as a debt analyst in 1982. “Gov. Espenilla, or “Nesting” to his BSP colleagues, slowly but steadily rose through the ladder before his appointment as deputy governor in 2005,” he said.
He said Espenilla, a University of the Philippines magna cum laude graduate, was best remembered by ordinary Juan de la Cruz for making financial services closer to Filipinos who transact mostly using non-bank channels.
“He pioneered a National Retail Payment System and introduced InstaPay, an electronic fund transfer system, and PESONet, an automated clearing house, which saw the Philippines’ gradual shift from cash and check-based payments to electronic means,” he said. “Rest in peace, Gov. Nesting,” he added. (Genalyn Kabiling)
