Ralph Recto is an old hand at the bicam. The bicam and the VAT are the monuments to his service to the Filipino people. Having said that, let us continue with the aftermath of Recto’s fiscal policy, which is considered by the marginalized sector as anti-poor.
Ralph Recto had served on various bicameral conference committees (bicam) throughout his long legislative career of 33 years.
1. Initial service (1992-2001). Recto first served on the bicam during his first three terms in the House of Representatives (9th to 11th Congress) where he authored major economic reforms and the Poverty Alleviation Act and the Comprehensive Tax Law.
2. Senate membership (2001-2022). His involvement became more prominent during his tenure as a senator.
a) 12th-15th Congress: As chairperson of the Committee on Ways and Means.
b) 2012: He was officially named Senate Pro Tempore in the 16th, 17th, and 18th Congresses, serving as an ex officio member of all standing committees, which typically grants a seat or oversight role in many bicameral bodies.
In the historical and current political context of 2026, Ralph Recto is often characterized as an old hand at the bicam due to his more than three decades of high-level involvement in its operations.
While supporters credit his mastery of the bicam for ensuring the passage of complex economic reforms, a significant segment of the population-–particularly the marginalized sector-–regards his deep influence on the process with profound distrust.
The distrust in Recto stems from a serious lack of transparency on what he had been doing involving huge sums of money, the unconstitutional budget realignments operationalized by his self-crafted circular without visible presidential approval, and the deliberately covered insertion of pork barrel funds in the national budget.
The problem is that PBBM must have been dazzled by the Recto name because President Ferdinand Edralin Marcos Sr. revered Claro M. Recto. But, with all due respect, Claro had some imperfections. He failed the first bar exam that he took, but like the great men of the world, Claro M. Recto redeemed himself by words and deeds, in brilliance, fame, and glory.
When Ralph Recto went to Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts, he took up a short course, “Chaos, Conflict, and Courage,” in the John F. Kennedy School of Government.
That is exactly where he is now, “in chaos and conflict.” He will need a lot of courage to repent and reform, to redeem himself and his hallowed name.
God created what is good for the poor. Recto created the VAT that is anti-poor.
The VAT taxes consumption, so low income earners spend a bigger share of their income
on taxed goods and services (like food, utilities, transportation), bearing a heavier burden relative to the little things that they possess as poor earners.
On Thursday, 22 January, this column will show that our country would be better off even if we totally eliminate Recto’s VAT if we could reduce congressional corruption by 50 percent.
Email: arturobesana2@gmail.com