The private sector has also weighed in on Recto’s designation as finance secretary…praising his ‘wealth of experience’ and ‘impeccable track record of exemplary public service’ in Congress
Can newly designated Finance Secretary Ralph Recto hack it as the Marcos Jr. administration’s key economic manager?
If the compliments thrown his way by his contemporaries in the legislative and executive branches are any indication, he is more than capable of helping the government meet its economic development targets.
In choosing Recto as his Finance Secretary, President Marcos Jr. cited Recto’s ability “to help devise strategies that will tame inflation through a bastion of responses ranging from plugging supply gaps to injecting non-monetary measures so that prices will be stable.”
The President’s marching order to Recto was to lead the government’s anti-smuggling drive and pursue tax cheats, starting with the habitual ones “who have raised tax evasion not just to an art but into a business.”
Moreover, Recto should “promote not just ease in paying taxes but also in efficiently and effectively spending those collections.”
Economic Planning Secretary and concurrent National Economic Development Authority Director General Arsenio Balisacan said he “looks forward to working with Secretary Recto and the rest of the Cabinet to realize President Marcos’ goal of securing a better future for Filipinos for sustained economic growth.”
For Budget Secretary Amenah Pangandaman, the experiences of Recto in the legislative and executive branches will help in pursuing “our desired reforms.”
Trade and Industry Secretary Alfredo Pascual said his department “will continue to work closely with the economic team” in implementing the President’s economic priorities.
Recto’s former colleagues in the Senate and the House of Representatives also welcomed his appointment as Finance chief.
Senate President Juan Miguel Zubiri said: “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.”
Zubiri said Recto “understands how to bridge the gap between the abstractions of mathematics and the very concrete realities that we face as a nation.”
Sen. Juan Edgardo Angara, chairman of the Committee on Finance, said that, having served with Recto for several years in the Senate, he can attest to the new secretary’s political acumen and intellectual abilities.
Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian is convinced that Recto’s “extensive experience in finance and economic policy makes him a valuable addition to the economic team, and I am confident in his ability to drive initiatives that will efficiently implement reforms in the country’s tax system.”
From another direction, House Speaker Ferdinand Martin Romualdez said Recto’s “extensive knowledge” and “profound grasp of economics” make him the most fitting candidate for the Finance portfolio.
“Throughout his distinguished career, Secretary Recto has consistently exhibited outstanding leadership, particularly in matters related to the nation’s fiscal policies,” the Leyte lawmaker said.
Rep. Joey Salceda (Albay, 3rd District), believes Recto will bring to his new role “a wealth of experience in economic legislation and deep and longstanding relationships with members of Congress.”
The lawmaker added Recto’s background as a tax reformer and a senator who chaired the Senate Ways and Means panel will help him in realizing “meaningful reforms to address cost of living, create employment, and expand our fiscal space.”
There’s also the endorsement of Recto by former president and now Pampanga 2nd District Rep. Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, who said she is proud that Recto, who served as Socioeconomic Planning Secretary and NEDA director-general during her administration, has been in the forefront of fiscal reform legislation.
“His reforms restored our country’s economic health, allowing the Philippines to avoid a recession during the 2008 worldwide crash caused by the US mortgage crisis,” Arroyo said, adding Recto will use his proven political will to do what is right.
The private sector has also weighed in on Recto’s designation as finance secretary, with the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry, among the country’s largest and most influential business groups, praising his “wealth of experience” and “impeccable track record of exemplary public service” in Congress. It described Recto as “perfectly suited for the job.”
(Email: ernhil@yahoo.com)
