Finance Secretary Ralph G. Recto has now officially settled into his role as a member of President Marcos' economic team, following his confirmation by the powerful Commission on Appointments (CA).

During the 42-minute CA hearing last March 13, Recto received mostly praises and well-wishes from the body. Nonetheless, he also faced some probing questions from an opposition senator.

One of Senator Risa Hontiveros' inquiries focused on the differences in priorities between Recto and his predecessor, former Finance Secretary Benjamin E. Diokno.

Neither Recto nor Diokno are currently part of the Monetary Board of the central bank; Recto serves as the government representative, while Diokno is a regular member.

In response to Hontiveros' question, Recto initially noted the shared values he and Diokno have, particularly their mutual aversion to maxing out the “Philippine national credit card” meaning incurring substantial debt.

However, Recto cited four key policy areas where his approach diverges from that of Diokno.

Recto firstly discussed their different views on the government's free college education law, which was described by Diokno as a "fiscally unsustainable" program.

“For me, that is very important and funds for that should be increased,” said Recto, who authored Republic Act 10931, or the Universal Access to Quality Tertiary Education Act.

Secondly, Recto focused on the proposed reform of the military and uniformed personnel's (MUP) pension system, saying any changes to the scheme should only apply to new entrants in the military and uniformed services.

“Let's respect the pension of our military because the government should not be an Indian giver, so to speak,” Recto said.

Thirdly, the finance chief addressed the government's plans to lower the budget deficit as a percentage of the gross domestic product (GDP).

Recto said that while he and Diokno agree on the necessity of reducing the budget deficit-to-GDP ratio, the trajectory should not impede the country's growth.

“The trajectory should also be downward, but not too steep,” the finance chief said.

Finally, Recto expressed his views on taxation, voicing reservations about implementing new taxes given the recently passed tax laws and the substantial tax gaps in the collections of the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) and Bureau of Customs.

“In my opinion, it [new tax] is not fitting in our current time because there are so many new taxes. Perhaps we can try to improve tax administration efficiency here in the BIR and Customs,” he concluded.