Purisima named Finance Minister of the Year for fifth time

MANILA, Philippines - Finance Secretary Cesar V. Purisima has been recognized for the fifth time as Finance Minister of the Year by Hong Kong-based financial publishing firm FinanceAsia for his successful stewardship of the Philippine economy.

FinanceAsia ranks the performance of the ministers of finance in Asia-Pacific’s 12 largest economies according to how they have helped their respective countries to deal with challenges and uncertainty amid the lingering crisis in global financial markets.

Purisima was commended for steering the country toward more stable financial ground, resulting in  the Philippines scoring investment grade status from major global credit-rating agencies.

During his term, the Philippines logged 12 straight quarters of unprecedented growth above five percent, bringing the average quarterly GDP growth rate under the Aquino administration at 6.02 percent.

“The award truly belongs to President Aquino and my colleagues in the Philippine Cabinet because the economic growth and fiscal reforms are truly a team effort, proving that ‘good governance is good economics.’ We have proven yet again that the Philippine miracle is not a one-hit wonder. We’re here to stay, and we are ready to play big in the world stage,” Purisima said.

“In four years, the Philippines has achieved what we set out to do: we grew at a six percent average and cut the deficit to an all-time low. Stocks are up 125 percent since we took office and foreign direct investments rose 64 percent from January to October 2014 alone,” Purisima said.

FinanceAsia also cited Purisima’s gutsy  move of  pushing for the sin tax reform bill which helped boost the health budget by 57 percent from the 2013 level.

This fifth citation marks the fourth consecutive year where Purisima has been acknowledged Finance Minister of the Year by various institutions. In 2011, he was named  Finance Minister of the Year for Asia by London-based financial news source Emerging Markets while leading global banking and finance magazine Euromoney gave him the distinction of Finance Minister of the Year for 2012.

In 2013, Purisima became a repeat awardee of the Finance Minister of the Year for Asia distinction from Emerging Markets. Most recently, he was cited by The Banker as Finance Minister of the Year for Asia Pacific in 2013.

Purisima is also the first and so far only repeat awardee of the said distinction from Emerging Markets since the publication started recognizing Finance Ministers of the Year for Asia in 2007.

The DOF chief said the Philippines  remains committed to fiscal and macroeconomic sustainability through the implementation of reforms and good governance.

“Reforms beget rewards. This award strengthens our resolve to double down on reforms: rationalize fiscal incentives, modernize our revenue generating agencies, and engineer a competitive and equitable tax structure for all Filipinos,” Purisima said.

“We’ve checked every box, a feat deemed impossible by many. Less than two years before the end of this term, we are pushing for even more game-changing reforms. There is no shortage of impossible dreams for a Philippines filled with hope. We are raring and ready for more,” he added.

This award comes at an opportune time, as the Philippines hosts the 2015 APEC meetings calling for greater financial integration and transparency, as well as financing for resiliency and infrastructure around the region.