Finance Secretary Recto joins Monetary Board as cabinet representative

President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr. has designated Department of Finance (DOF) Secretary Ralph G. Recto as Cabinet representative to the Monetary Board (MB), the highest policy-making body of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP).

The MB is chaired by BSP Governor Eli M. Remolona, Jr. (in photo, left) who administered Secretary Recto’s oath of office as MB Member on Monday, January 22 at the BSP head office in Manila.

With Governor Remolona and Secretary Recto at the MB are five full-time members from the private sector: MB Members Benjamin E. Diokno, V. Bruce J. Tolentino, Anita Linda R. Aquino, Romeo L. Bernardo, and Rosalia V. De Leon.

Before his appointment to the DOF on January 15, Secretary Recto served as Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives in the 19th Congress, representing the 6th District of Batangas.

He was a Senator for three terms (2001 to 2007 and 2010 to 2022) and held key positions that included Senate President Pro Tempore and Senate Minority Leader. From 1992 to 2001, he was the Representative of the 4th District of Batangas.

As a lawmaker, he authored and sponsored numerous tax measures and economic reforms, Healthcare Act; Rice Tariffication Act; Ease of Doing Business and Efficient Government Service Delivery Act of 2018; General Tax Amnesty; Rationalization of Excise Tax on Automobiles; and Social Reform and Poverty Alleviation Act.

He also co-authored the Bayanihan to Recover as One Act and the Bayanihan to Heal as One Act to help the country recover faster from the COVID-19 pandemic.

In 2008, he served as Socioeconomic Planning Secretary of the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA).

Secretary Recto holds a bachelor’s degree in Commerce majoring in Business Management from the De La Salle University in Manila. He took up his master’s degrees in Business Economics from the University of Asia and the Pacific; and in Public Administration from the University of the Philippines. Additionally, he completed a Leadership Course at the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University.