Former BSP chief Gabby Singson dies at 87

Former Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas Governor Gabriel C. Singson. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO

MANILA — Former Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas Governor Gabriel C. Singson passed away around 2 a.m. on Tuesday, the central bank confirmed on Tuesday morning.

He was 87.

The cause of death was not immediately disclosed, but banking sources said his health had been declining in recent years.

Singson served as the governor of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas from July 6, 1993 to July 5, 1999.

He is best remembered as the head of the country’s central monetary authority during the outbreak of the 1997 East Asian financial crisis. His deft stewardship of the BSP, amid limited resources at that time, is credited by many local and foreign observers for having helped the Philippines sidestep the brunt of the economic malaise that swept across the region starting July 1997.

Singson, a lawyer by training, was a bar topnotcher, and was a career central banker. His stint at the monetary authority was interrupted by a brief stint as the head of the then government-owned Philippine National Bank.

When the cash-strapped Central Bank of the Philippines was abolished by Congress and reconstituted into the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas in 1993, Singson was appointed by then President Fidel V. Ramos to be its first governor.

After his term as central bank governor, he went on to serve in various directorships in the private sector, including several firms in the Gokongwei, Yuchengco and Lucio Tan conglomerates.

He graduated magna cum laude and valedictorian from the Ateneo de Manila University’s College of Liberal Arts in 1948, and obtained his law degree from the Ateneo Law School in 1952.

Interment is scheduled for Friday morning.  SFM