New roster of DOF senior officials appointed

President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr. has appointed a new roster of high-caliber senior officials in the Department of Finance (DOF) who would support Finance Secretary Ralph G. Recto in ensuring long-term fiscal sustainability and accelerating inclusive economic growth.

“I thank the President for appointing a new group of distinguished professionals in the DOF with whom I have worked in the past. They are valuable additions to the existing team in the DOF, which is comprised of equally talented individuals and who have been important pillars for the agency,” Secretary Recto said.

Joining Secretary Recto in the DOF is Mr. Rolando G. Tungpalan who will serve as Undersecretary of the Corporate Affairs and Strategic Infrastructure Group.

He will be in charge of fast-tracking the roll-out of President Marcos, Jr.’s Build Better More program and ensure swift government action on investments by addressing critical bottlenecks and creating a conducive environment that welcomes investors with a red carpet.

Tungpalan is a seasoned economist who served as Undersecretary for Investment Programming of the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA).

In this capacity, Tungpalan chaired the Technical Boards of the Investment Coordination Committee (ICC) and the Infrastructure Committee of the NEDA Board. He also played a key role as the primary government representative for multilateral and bilateral programming of official development assistance (ODA), leading negotiations and high-level consultations.

Tungpalan is a graduate of the University of the Philippines Diliman where he completed his degree in Economics. He earned masteral units in Economic Research at the Center for Research and Communications.

On top of these, he earned the highest rank in the Career Executive Service and was awarded the Distinguished Service Award in 2018 by the UP School of Economics Alumni Association.

Additionally, he completed a comprehensive training program in operations research at the Institute of Mathematics and Operations Research at the Technical University of Denmark.

Mr. Joven Balbosa, who has served in senior roles in key multilateral agencies, assumes the position of Undersecretary for the International Finance Group (IFG).

Balbosa will lead efforts in securing foreign development financing and formulate policies related to prudent external resource mobilization. Additionally, he is the primary DOF lead in collaborating with other government agencies on international agreements covering areas such as trade, investment, and tax treaties.

Prior to his appointment, Balbosa served as advisor to the Southeast Asian Department of the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and economist at the World Bank (WB).

He has more than 30 years of experience in macroeconomics, public sector management, country strategy formulation, programming, and evaluation.

Balbosa holds a master’s degree in Development Economics from Williams College and a diploma in Advanced Specialization in Development Economics from the University of Colorado in the United States. He received his bachelor’s degree in Economics from the University of the Philippines Diliman.

Meanwhile, Mr. Gerald Alan A. Quebral is the new Assistant Secretary for the Revenue Operations Group (ROG). He is tasked to ensure that the government meets its revenue collection targets annually by overseeing the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) operations.

Quebral served as Executive Director of the Congressional Oversight Committee on Comprehensive Tax Reform Program in the Senate and House of Representatives.

He spent nearly two decades as a Revenue Officer in various divisions of the BIR, including the industry audit, tax fraud, policy cases, large taxpayers district office in Makati, national investigation, and the large taxpayers regular audit division.

Quebral finished his degree in Accounting at the Philippine School of Business Administration and obtained his Juris Doctor degree at the University of Santo Tomas Faculty of Civil Law.

He completed an executive education program on Comparative Tax Policy and Administration at the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University.

Meanwhile, Ms. Sharon P. Almanza was appointed as National Treasurer after serving as Officer-in-Charge of the Bureau of the Treasury (BTr).

Almanza previously served as Deputy Treasurer of the BTr and was seconded to the World Bank Group from 2021 to 2023 as the Alternate Executive Director and Senior Advisor for the Constituency of Brazil, Colombia, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Haiti, Panama, Philippines, Suriname, and Trinidad & Tobago.

She also held various positions at the DOF as the IFG’s Division Chief for Debt and Risk Management and Multilateral Assistance.

Almanza finished her degree in Economics at the University of the Philippines Diliman and earned masteral units in Business Management from the same university. She obtained her master’s degree in Asian Public Policy at the Hitotsubashi University in Tokyo, Japan.

The President also appointed Ms. Donalyn U. Minimo as Director IV of the IFG and Ms. Cherry Mae P. Gonzales as Director IV of the Information Management Service (IMS). Minimo completed her master’s degree in Policy Economics from the Williams College Center for Development Economics, while Gonzales earned her master’s degree in Social and Public Communication from the London School of Economics and Political Science.

The new senior officers join the roster of current senior finance officials namely Chief-of-Staff and Undersecretary for IMS, Political and Legislative Liaison, and Climate Finance Policy Alu Dorotan Tiuseco; Undersecretary for the Privatization and Partnerships Group Catherine L. Fong; Undersecretary for Legal Services and Local Finance Group Bayani H. Agabin; and Undersecretary for Special Concerns Maria Edita Z. Tan.