Aquino appoints 2 new finance undersecretaries

MANILA — President Aquino has promoted two Department of Finance (DOF) officials, both serving the agency for over two decades already, to the rank of undersecretary.

The DOF on Thursday said that last Mar. 7, President Aquino appointed as undersecretary Maria Lourdes B. Recente, who has been with the DOF for 27 years now out of her total of 38 years in government service.

Recente, who is also Finance Secretary Cesar V. Purisima’s chief of staff, held an assistant secretary position prior to her promotion.

The DOF said Recente has been “playing a primary role in [Purisima’s] leadership of the Cabinet Economic Development Cluster.”

“Overseeing all DOF priorities, programs and projects on behalf of [Purisima], Recente has been at the forefront of various economic and governance reforms for the past few years,” including tax policy and administration, the DOF said.

Also promoted to the rank of undersecretary was Maria Edita Z. Tan, who received her new appointment from the President on Mar. 8. She has been working at the DOF for 24 years.

“Tan, who has been the assistant secretary of the international finance group since October 2012, is largely responsible for the DOF’s successful chairmanship and hosting of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) 2015 Finance Ministers’ Process and all related events, including the development and adoption of the Cebu Action Plan by all member-economies,” the DOF said.

The Philippines-shepherded Cebu Action Plan is a 10-year APEC roadmap aimed at making the region more financially integrated, resilient and transparent while also sustaining the gains made so far in effecting structural reform to achieve inclusive growth.

Since last year, Tan also serves as the focal person for the Philippines’ chairmanship of the Vulnerable 20 or V20 Group of Finance Ministers under the Climate Vulnerable Forum.

Tan was likewise detailed to the Bureau of Customs (BOC) from October 2013 until May last year to lead the agency’s revenue collection monitoring group.

During her BOC stint, Tan “introduced major reforms such as the adoption of dual lanes in the airports of Manila, Cebu and Clark; increased collection of duties and taxes from government-owned and/or -controlled corporations; improved the quality of cases filed by the bureau with the justice department; and enhanced the analysis of Customs revenue trends and collection,” the DOF said.  SFM