THE Bankers Association of the Philippines (BAP) has welcomed the appointment of Batangas Rep. Ralph Recto as the country’s new finance chief, saying he is “equipped with the necessary experience” to help advance the country’s economic growth.
Recto replaced Benjamin Diokno who served as the 32nd Secretary of Finance under the administration of President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. for almost two years.
Diokno, in a statement on Friday, Jan. 12, 2024, said he is handing over a Department of Finance that is in a better state. He will return to the Monetary Board of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP). Before his appointment as Finance secretary, Diokno had served the BSP as its governor from 2019 to 2022.
“Secretary Recto is equipped with the necessary experience to promote Philippine economic growth through the implementation of effective fiscal policy, having served as Secretary General of the National Economic and Development Authority and as a senator who has advocated for pro-growth laws,” the BAP said.
As head of the Marcos administration’s economic team, BAP said Recto will play a critical role in the reformation of fiscal and economic policies, together with balancing political realities.
“We are confident that he will succeed in his role, to the benefit of the Filipino public,” the organization composed of 44 member-banks said.
“While the Philippine economy continues to grow due to its strong fundamentals, it is currently facing local and global economic headwinds such as inflation. The country needs an experienced economist who can navigate the ongoing challenges of this operating environment, and Secretary Recto is an ideal fit for this job,” said Jose Teodoro Limcaoco, president of BAP.
‘Better state’
In a statement Friday, Jan. 12, Diokno said he would turn over a Department of Finance (DOF) that is on solid footing to the incoming finance chief.
“I am proud knowing that I will be leaving my post at a time when the Philippine economy, in general, and the DOF, in particular, are in a better state of affairs than when I inherited them,” said Diokno.
Since taking the helm at the DOF on July 1, 2022, Diokno has committed to pursuing the Marcos administration’s overarching goals of reducing the deficit-to-gross domestic product ratio to three percent, achieving upper middle-income status by 2025, and bringing down poverty incidence to single-digit by the end of the President’s term.
Diokno led the economic team in crafting the Philippines’ Medium-Term Fiscal Framework during the Marcos Jr.’s first month in office.
For the first 10 months of 2023, the National Government’s actual revenue collection rose to P3.2 trillion, higher by 9.4 percent compared to the same period in 2022.
Revenue collections also exceeded the target for the period by 5.2 percent due to better collection performance by the Bureau of Customs and income from the Bureau of the Treasury.
Diokno strongly advocated for digitalization to improve revenue collection performance. He also vowed to broaden the tax base to ensure fairness where everyone can contribute their fair share of taxes and proposed to improve Philippine tax laws to be at par with international standards and many other initiatives.
The Philippine economy grew by 5.9 percent in the third quarter of 2023, the strongest among major economies in Asia, outpacing major economies in Asia such as Vietnam (5.3 percent), Indonesia and China (4.9 percent), Malaysia (3.3), and Singapore (0.7 percent).
Recto
Recto’s appointment was welcomed by Senate President Miguel Zubiri.
“In the Senate, we always regarded him as the resident numbers genius. This was not just for his mathematical ability, but more importantly for his ability to immediately see the big picture implications of these numbers,” said Zubiri.
“More than most, he understands how to bridge the gap between the abstractions of mathematics and the very concrete realities that we face as a nation. So I do not doubt that he will be a good Finance Secretary, who will continue to push the country along on the road to greater economic prosperity,” Zubiri added.
Before the Senate, Recto first served as a representative of the fourth district of Batangas in 1999. He then served as a senator in 2001, 2010 and 2016. He also had a brief stint as secretary general of the National Economic and Development Authority.