Daily Tribune
LOOK: Finance Secretary Ralph Gonzalez Recto, who was recognized by his former colleagues in the Senate as their "resident economist," faced no protest from committee members, and is now confirmed at the plenary by the Commission on Appointments on Wednesday, 13 March 2024.
King Rodriguez
The Commission on Appointments on Wednesday unanimously approved the ad interim appointment of Ralph Recto as secretary of the Department of Finance.
Recto’s former colleagues in both the House of Representatives and Senate expressed their full support for his confirmation, and no members of the CA voted against his appointment.
During the plenary debate of the CA Committee on Finance, the 12-member House contingent of the powerful CA spared Recto from questioning.
“The House contingent to the Commission on Appointments has unanimously agreed to support the confirmation of our former colleague, Finance Secretary Ralph Gonzales Recto,” CA Committee on Finance Vice Chairperson and Representative Ramon Gioco Jr. said.
“We shall not raise any questions and interpose no objections with regards to his nomination as Finance secretary,” he added.
Meanwhile, only Senator Risa Hontiveros from the 12-member Senate contingent raised questions to Recto, particularly about his priorities and policies as Finance chief.
For his part, Recto said he would prioritize the improvement of the country’s debt-to-gross domestic product ratio, which is the widely used indicator for tracking debt sustainability.
Likewise, the Finance chief expressed his commitment to enhancing tax collection efforts by the Bureau of Internal Revenue and the Bureau of Customs, while also reducing the country’s fiscal deficit.
Senate President Juan Miguel “Migz” Zubiri, who also sponsored the ad interim appointment of Recto, approved the latter’s nomination for the post of Finance secretary.
Zubiri declared support for Recto, whom he said is a “dear friend, true patriot, and a former senator.”
“When he was in the Senate, Senator Ralph was the resident numbers guy, not only because he was brilliant at crunching numbers but more importantly because he could see the big picture,” he said.
Mind for numbers
According to him, Recto was the go-to adviser on the economy, taxes, and even in life when he was a member of the Senate.
“This is what we need from our secretary of finance. Someone who has the mind for numbers but whose heart is firmly set for uplifting the lives of our people,” he said.
