MANILA–Department of Budget and Management (DBM) Secretary Amenah F. Pangandaman supports the appointment of former Senator Ralph G. Recto as Finance Secretary.
Recto took his oath on Malacanang on Friday.
President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. appointed him on Thursday as Secretary Benjamin E. Diokno returns to the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas as Monetary Board member.
“We defer to the wisdom of the President on these matters so as the latest appointee of PBBM to the Economic Team, Sec. Recto can expect our full support,” Pangandaman said in a statement.
Meanwhile, the DBM expressed its gratitude to outgoing Secretary Diokno.
“He has always been the guiding light of the Philippine Economic Team,” Pangandaman added, noting that it was Diokno’s vision to craft the Medium-Term Fiscal Framework, on which the Administration anchored the Agenda for Prosperity, and which was historically adopted for the first time by both the House of Representatives and the Senate.
The Philippines emerged from the pandemic with an astounding 7.6 percent GDP growth in 2022 through Diokno’s masterful leadership of the Philippine economy as head of the Cabinet’s Economic Development Group.
This is historically the fastest growth since 1976, putting the Philippines back on the world map as the fastest emerging economy in the Asia Pacific region.
“Sec. Diokno established a very good foundation for our economic transformation so I am confident we can continue this under Sec. Recto, who is a legislator with Executive branch experience and can merge these experiences to pursue our desired reforms,” Pangandaman said.
