CA approves ad interim appointment of Recto

MANILA, Philippines —  The Commission on Appointments (CA) approved yesterday the ad interim appointment of Finance Secretary Ralph Recto, who vowed to plug tax leaks, improve tax administration and prevent wasteful expenditures.

“The top three priorities include not to max out the Philippine national credit card, reduce debt to GDP (growth domestic product) of the country. Add more funds for free public education, and support the MUP (military and uniformed personnel) pension bill as we respect the pensions of the retirees,” Recto said of his tenure as Department of Finance chief.

Recto noted that as “the needs of our growing population outpace revenues, the temptation to inflict taxes is there… But such must take a backseat to growing the economy, plugging tax leaks, improving tax administration, and, yes, preventing wasteful expenditures, through carefully curated projects that only yield economic gains.”

The DOF secretary said they are looking to promote the ease of doing business where investors can process their documents online.

“My priorities are to collect the revenues of the government so that we can implement and execute the budget for the year. That’s number one. Number two, to make it easy for businesses to do business so that we can create jobs in the process,” Recto said.

“We will improve tax administration efficiency of the BIR (Bureau of Internal Revenue) and the (Bureau of) Customs,” he said.

He also expressed support to the amendment of the Corporate Recovery and Tax Incentives for Enterprises Act as exporters should be exempted from Value Added Tax so they will be more competitive globally.

He added that “digitalization is a priority of President Marcos in BIR, BOC, and the ease of doing business, in e-commerce. You can better build a business, pay taxes, reduce traffic, pollution and corruption if the process is digitized.”

Instead of imposing new taxes, Recto said the best way to inculcate tax obedience is still to promote ease of payment, and to show that taxes that are efficiently collected are effectively spent.

Earlier, Recto explained that the proposed 2024 national budget of P5.767 trillion translates to average daily spending of P15.8 billion, but only P11.7 billion of which is supportable by revenues, leaving a P4 billion hole which must be plugged by debt.

“In the words of the President, replacing red tape with a red carpet, but, if I may add, without sweeping the unsavory under the rug or trampling rights and rules.”

Recto was the last department secretary appointed to complete the administration of President Marcos.

CA chairman and Senate President Juan Miguel Zubiri expressed confidence that “Recto’s extensive experiences as a legislator and his time as National Economic and Development Authority chief have prepared him well for this demanding position.”

“When he was in the Senate, Secretary Ralph was our resident numbers guy, not only because he was brilliant at crunching the numbers, but more importantly, because he could immediately see the big picture. He would be our go to adviser on the economy, on taxes, and even in life,” he added.

Sen. Ramon Revilla Jr., who presided over the CA finance committee meeting, said “Recto has undeniably proven himself over your years of top caliber public service. And your statement today solidifies this and all the more convinces us of how truly qualified and competent you are.”

‘No tolerance  for violence’

The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) gave assurance yesterday that the military does not tolerate violence against women among its ranks amid allegations of domestic abuse raised by the wife of Brig. Gen. Ranulfo Sevilla at the CA on Tuesday.

The military cannot comment on the facts of the case of the ranking military official who is currently the deputy commander of the Special Operations Command because of a January 2024 gag order issued by the Dipolog City regional trial court, according to AFP public affairs office chief Col. Xerxes Trinidad.

However, he stressed that “the AFP takes seriously all allegations and complaints pertaining to the protection of women and children.”

“Rest assured that the AFP does not tolerate any form of abuse and continue to inculcate among our personnel strong social and family values,” he said. – Michael Punongbayan