Atin Ito First Filipino Community Newspaper in Ontario
On the day he was sworn in by President Marcos, Finance Secretary Ralph Recto set his sights immediately on being able to collect ₱20 billion in daily revenues to meet the government’s spending needs this year. His ability to get down to brass tacks reflects the depth of his experience as a legislator – he has served as Senator and Representative – as well as Secretary of Economic Planning and Director General of the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA).
Before he served as NEDA chief in 2007, he lost his Senate reelection bid – and this is attributed to his sponsorship of the Value Added Tax (VAT) scheme which, at that time, was clearly unpopular. Yet, as noted by former President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, the substantial revenue gains cushioned the impact of the Asian financial crisis of 2008. Toughened by experience, he is now poised to play a key role in bringing into full fruition important policy reforms of ensuring attainment of the administration’s Medium-Term Fiscal Reform Program.
His pro-people profile is clearly shown by his legislative record. Among the laws he authored were: Murang Kuryente Act, Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program Act, Child Safety in Motor Vehicles Act, Universal Health Care Act, Philhealth Coverage for PWDs, National Integrated Cancer Control Act, Tax Amnesty Act, The New Central Bank Act, Lifting Quantitative Import Restriction on Rice, Social Security Act, First 1,000 Days of Life, Universal Access to Quality Tertiary Education, Comprehensive National Feeding Program, Free Irrigation Service, Ease of Doing Business/Expanded Anti-Red Tape Act, Free Internet Access in Public Places, Extending the Validity of Philippine Passport and Driver’s License, National ID System, and Designating Casinos as Covered Persons under the AMLA.
President Marcos has expressed confidence that Secretary Recto would implement new ideas and programs during his stewardship. He expressed confidence that the new finance secretary will come up with fresh ideas that the country needs for the transformation of the economy. He affirmed that the DOF will continue to observe fiscal discipline, saying that the new secretary is expected, too, to look into his department’s operations and fine-tune these accordingly, while working with other members of the economic team in following through with significant gains achieved in the President’s foreign trips where he had harvested substantial amounts of new investment commitments.
Youth and dynamism have been Secretary Recto’s badges of excellence in Congress. He was the youngest Representative to be elected, winning in all precincts, barangays, and municipalities, together with in the 1995 and 1998 elections. He garnered 98 percent of the votes cast in those two elections in the 4th District of Batangas. In 2001, he was also the youngest Senator.
Charisma with the common tao, and superior leadership skills, would certainly serve him in good stead as he takes on what could yet be the biggest challenge of his political career. We join the Filipino people in wishing him well on his new portfolio.
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Credit belongs to: www.mb.com.ph
