DOF completes team of senior officials

MANILA, Philippines — Three months since his appointment, Finance Secretary Ralph Recto has finally assembled a complete team that would help him consolidate the country’s finances and generate much needed revenues for state coffers.

President Marcos has formally appointed new senior officials at the Department of Finance to help Recto steer the economy toward inclusive growth with a sustainable fiscal space.

Domini Velasquez is now the chief economist at the DOF who will analyze data on emerging economic developments, provide early warnings and recommend response measures aimed at anticipating and addressing key economic issues.

Velasquez has over 15 years of experience in macroeconomic research and policy analysis. Before joining the Marcos administration, Velasquez was chief economist at Sy-led China Banking Corp.

She also held key positions at the National Economic and Development Authority, Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas and the Asian Development Bank.

Also joining the DOF is lawyer Charlito Martin Mendoza who will serve as undersecretary for Revenue Operations Group (ROG).

The ROG is responsible for processing requests for tax exemptions and reviewing tax rulings and revenue and customs regulations for issuance.

It also reviews protest cases and provides general supervision and coordination of internal revenue and customs operations.

Prior to his role at the DOF, Mendoza was district collector for the Bureau of Customs-Port of Cebu.

Before doing public service, Mendoza was a founding partner of the Palafox Patriarca Romero and Mendoza Law firm and was an associate lawyer at the Angara Abello Concepcion Regala and Cruz Law Offices and the Suarez and Narvasa Law firm.