𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗳𝗶𝗹𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝗦𝗲𝗰𝗿𝗲𝘁𝗮𝗿𝘆 𝗥𝗮𝗹𝗽𝗵 𝗚𝗼𝗻𝘇𝗮𝗹𝗲𝘇 𝗥𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗼
Ralph Gonzalez Recto, the Executive Secretary, is a former Secretary of the Department of Finance, a three-term Senator, a former NEDA Director-General, and a Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives. These core values form the foundation that built his reputation as an independent and dedicated legislator and a distinguished national executive. He approaches public service with a passion to introduce reforms that change the lives of the Filipino people. His impartial judgement is reflected in his openness and willingness to listen to contrary position. Critical thinking governs his objective analysis of information to address problems and issues. He recognizes the merit of new concepts and innovations but these should be practical and doable. He can never be boxed into a myopic position to the disdain of his critics. He is not one to shun the rough waters of public opinion when he tackles unpopular but relevant measures. He faces resistance head on, but in creative ways that disarm the adversary. Whoever initially opposes his ideas is soon converted into an ally because his argument is always evidence-based rather than one presented in sophisticated but empty rhetoric.
𝗙𝗮𝗺𝗶𝗹𝘆 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗽𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝗹𝗶𝗳𝗲
Ralph Recto’s political lineage is traced to the late Senator Claro Mayo Recto, a nationalist and statesman, and a descendant of the patriotic Mayo and Recto clans of Luzon. Recto is the second of three children of lawyer Rafael Recto, an Assemblyman during the Regular Batasang Pambansa, and Carmen Gonzalez-Recto whose family hails from Pangasinan. He is married to former Deputy Speaker Vilma Santos-Recto, now re-elected as Governor of Batangas, and who hails from Tarlac and Nueva Ecija. He is father to Congressman Ryan Christian Recto of the 6th District of Batangas and stepfather to Luis Philippe Manzano.
𝗘𝗱𝘂𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻
Recto has completed the coursework and is a candidate for a Master's degree in Strategic Business Economics from the University of Asia and the Pacific. He also earned 36 units in a master’s degree in Public Administration from the University of the Philippines. Kennedy School of Government at the Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States of America. He completed his Bachelor’s degree in Commerce major in Business Management at the De La Salle University-Manila. His elementary years were spent at the Ateneo de Manila University and La Salle Green Hills while his high school diploma was from La Salle Green Hills. He was conferred a degree in Doctor of Science honoris causa by the Batangas State University, as well as a degree in Doctor of Humanities, honoris causa by the Lipa City Public College in 2010 and by the Nueva Ecija University of Science and Technology in 2009.
𝗘𝗻𝗱𝘂𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗺𝗮𝗿𝗿𝗶𝗮𝗴𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘀𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗲𝗱 𝗽𝗼𝗹𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗰𝘀
The couple Ralph Recto and Vilma Santos-Recto shares the core values of honesty, respect, commitment and compassion. These are reflected in the way they nurture their marriage and how they navigate together the political landscape. In 1992, Ralph launched his political career as he sought and won a seat in Congress as Representative of the 4th District of Batangas. Vilma supported his aspirations and was on his side as they campaigned in every nook and cranny of the city, municipalities and barangays of the district. In the same year, they got married in what is considered as one of the most celebrated weddings of that time. Ralph moved on to win three terms as Representative. In 2001, after his stint in the House of Representatives, he ran for Senator and won a six-year term. He was again elected in 2010 and re-elected in 2016. In 1998, Vilma herself heeded the call to public service when she joined the race for Mayor of Lipa City. At that time, Ralph was also a candidate for his last term as Representative. Ralph was the astute campaign manager and political adviser. Vilma gained the trust of the Lipeños and won a mandate of three terms as City Mayor. In 2001, then Mayor Vilma ran for re-election while Ralph ran for his first term as Senator. Running at the same time in the local and national elections would be a situation repeated in many occasions, which made handling the campaign simultaneously in two levels more challenging in terms of management, organization and funding. Then Senator Ralph Recto continued to help shepherd the political career of his wife even when she ran and won the election for Governor of Batangas in 2007. He worked together with then Governor Vilma in designing a strategic provincial plan for Batangas as well as in sourcing the financing of the programs and projects laid out in the plan. A 6th District of Batangas was created in 2016 and Vilma who had then served three terms as Governor, vied for election as Representative of the new District. At the same time, then Senator Recto also ran for his last term as Senator. Both candidates won on the advocacy under the acronym HEARTS which stands for Health, Education and Environment, Agriculture, Roads, Transportation and Security. Then Senate President Pro Tempore Ralph and then Deputy Speaker Vilma collaborated in crafting local laws that benefited Lipa City as well as laws that had national application. The progress of Lipa City and Batangas was accelerated by substantial funding brought home by Senator Ralph and Representative Vilma, that financed health care, scholarship programs, emergency jobs, livelihood projects, road construction, school buildings, hospital infrastructure, multi-purpose buildings, and social welfare programs, among others. It can be said that former Senator Ralph and Deputy Speaker Vilma complement each other. Their character strengths work to achieve success in marriage and in politics. Ralph with his expertise in Economics, management and governance provided guidance and impetus to Vilma in her political career. On the other hand, the latter, with her invaluable skills in people management, coming from her vast experience in the entertainment industry, helped in communicating and simplifying complex theories and technical arguments that is understandable to the masa.
𝗔𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗛𝗼𝘂𝘀𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝗥𝗲𝗽𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗮𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲𝘀
Recto holds the distinction of being the youngest elected member of the House of Representatives during the 9th Congress. He also holds an unprecedented record in the congressional election history of Batangas for winning in all precincts, barangays, municipalities, together with Lipa City in the 1995 and 1998 elections. He garnered 98% of the votes cast in those two elections in the then 4th District of Batangas. During his three terms (from 1992 to 2001) as Member of the House of Representatives, his legislative measures enacted into law mostly dealt with economic reforms and poverty alleviation. Among the most notable of which are the Social Reform and Poverty Alleviation Act; the Philippine Economic Zone Law; Amendment to the Special Economic Zone Law; the Retail Trade Liberalization Law; Regional Headquarters Law and the Comprehensive Tax Reform Law. In 2022, after completing in the Senate two consecutive terms in addition to his first term, Recto run for a seat in the House of Representatives as Congressman of the 6th District of Batangas. He won the election unopposed and eventually was chosen by his fellow Congressmen as Deputy Speaker. In the 19th Congress, Recto has filed 97 bills and 27 resolutions. Of these bills, the following have become laws: Ease of Paying Taxes (RA 11976) that modernizes tax administration and improves its efficiency and effectiveness by providing mechanisms that encourage proper and easy compliance at the least cost and resource possible; Public-Private Partnership Act (RA 11966) which seeks to lure capital that will cut our infrastructure backlog, while freeing budget space for social services, and generating jobs that boost domestic consumption; RA 11956 or Extending the Period of Availment of the Estate Tax Amnesty Until June 14, 2025; RA 11953 or the New Agrarian Reform Emancipation Act which condones the debts of Agrarian Reform Beneficiaries (ARB), and RA 11953 which postpones the December 2022 Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan Elections.
𝗔𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗡𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝗘𝗰𝗼𝗻𝗼𝗺𝗶𝗰 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗗𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗹𝗼𝗽𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗔𝘂𝘁𝗵𝗼𝗿𝗶𝘁𝘆
Earlier on July 23, 2008, he was named as the Director-General of the National Economic and Development Authority. As NEDA chief, Recto helped craft and monitor the government’s Economic Resiliency Plan (ERP), which served as the Philippines’ pump-priming program. Moreover, he proposed a new economic plan dubbed as REAP (Reloading Economic Acceleration Plan) to protect the gains made from the ERP. Recto advocated various development issues such as a transparent oil pricing scheme to protect consumers as well as institute greater transparency and efficiency in government project implementation.
𝗔𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗣𝗵𝗶𝗹𝗶𝗽𝗽𝗶𝗻𝗲 𝗦𝗲𝗻𝗮𝘁𝗲
In the 18th Congress, he was elected as Senate President Pro Tempore, a member of the Commission on Appointments and was an ex-officio member of all Standing Committees. He was elected the Senate President Pro Tempore in the 17th Congress. Prior to this was a brief stint as Minority Leader. He was also President Pro Tempore as well as the chairperson of the Committee on Science and Technology, and continued to be a member of the Commission on Appointments, in the 16th Congress. In the 15th Congress, then Senator Recto chaired the Committee on Ways and Means, and the Committee on Government Corporations and Public Enterprises. He was vice chairperson of the Committee on Public Services and a member of the Commission on Appointments. He was elected chairperson of the Committee on Ways and Means and the Committee on Agrarian Reform, as well as Chairperson of the Sub-Committee on Basic and Higher Education and Culture, in the 13th Congress. In the 12th Congress, Recto was chairperson of the Committee on Ways and Means and the Committee on Trade and Industry. Sensitivity to the welfare of government employees also marked his chairmanship of the Accounts Committee dealing with the Senate budget. As Chairperson of the Committee on Ways and Means, he also co-chaired the Joint Oversight Committee on the Proper Implementation of the National Internal Revenue Code (NIRC) and the Joint Oversight Committee on the Official Development Assistance (ODA).
𝗟𝗮𝘄𝘀 𝗔𝘂𝘁𝗵𝗼𝗿𝗲𝗱
In the 18th Congress, he has authored laws including the Bayanihan I and II, the extension of the GAA 2020 and the Bayanihan II, the COVID – 19 Vaccination Program, Coconut Farmers and Industry Trust Fund, Corporate Recovery and Tax Incentives for Enterprises Act (CREATE), Financial Institutions Strategic Transfer (FIST), Authorizing the President to Expedite the Processing and Issuance of National and Local Permits, Licenses and Certifications in Times of National Emergency and the Medical Scholarship Act. Then Senator Recto is the principal author of the law taxing POGOs, and the Salary Standardization Law V which upgraded the compensation of civil servants. For the 17th Congress, he authored the following laws: Universal Access to Quality Tertiary Education, Universal Healthcare, Mandatory PhilHealth Coverage for Persons with Disability, Masustansiyang Pagkain Para sa Batang Pilipino Act, Healthy Nanay and Bulilit Act, Free Irrigation Service, Rice Tariffication, Institutionalization of the 4Ps Program, Murang Kuryente Act, Free Internet Access in Public Places, Ease of Doing Business, Extending the Validity of Philippine Passport and Driver's License, National ID System, Amendments to the SSS Charter, the New Central Bank Act, Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion Law (TRAIN) and Designating Casinos as Covered Persons under the AMLA. His other legislative accomplishments for the 15th and 16th Congresses include authorship of laws on Kindergarten, K to 12, Unified Student Financial Assistance System for Tertiary Education (UniFAST), Open High School System, Open Learning and Distance Education Act, Ladderized Education Act, mandatory PHILHEALTH coverage for senior citizens, additional benefits for Persons with Disabilities, Centenarians Act, increasing the tax-exempt ceiling on 13th month pay and other benefits, extension of the Agricultural Competitiveness Enhancement Fund, PAGASA modernization, AFP modernization, creation of the Department of Information and Communications Technology, Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) Act, National Athletes and Coaches Benefits and Incentives Act, Customs Modernization and Tariff Act, Tax Incentives Management and Transparency Act and extending the Corporate Life of the Philippine National Railways. During the first term (12th and 13th Congresses) of then Senator Recto, he authored several revenue measures that impacted on the fiscal position of the government which resulted in the economic turnaround. These include: Amendments to the National Internal Revenue Code, Rationalization of Excise Tax on Automobiles, Increasing the Excise Tax Rates on Alcohol and Tobacco Products, Rationalizing the Provisions of Documentary Stamp Tax, Attrition Act of 2005, General Tax Amnesty and Expanding the Jurisdiction of the Court of Tax Appeals (CTA). Recto during his first term was also author of significant bills that provided the needed boost to the economy and improved the life of the people, as follows: Lifting of the 70% Cap on Input VAT, Special Purpose Vehicle Act and its Extension, Excluding Several Services from VAT Coverage, Restoring the Tax Exemption of Offshore Banking Units (OBUs) and Foreign Currency Deposit Units (FCDUs), Amendments to Bases Conversion and Development Act, BCDA’s One-Time Tax Amnesty, Philippine Overseas Shipping Act, Domestic Shipping Act, Barangay Microbusiness Enterprise Act, Rent Control Act and Rental Reform Act. The other laws that he co-authored consistent with his legislative agenda include: Amendments to the Magna Carta for Disabled Persons, Prohibiting the Detention of Live or Dead Patients in Hospitals, Alternative Learning System Act, Student Fare Discount Act, Improving the Confirmation Process for Imperfect Land Titles, Strengthening the Regulatory Functions of the POEA, Biofuels Act and Creating the Film Development Council of the Philippines.
𝗖𝗼𝗻𝘀𝘂𝗺𝗲𝗿 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝘁𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘀𝗼𝗰𝗶𝗮𝗹 𝗯𝗲𝗻𝗲𝗳𝗶𝘁𝘀
He has come out in defense of Juan de la Cruz in consumer issues like universal health care, social security, oil price, electric power, transportation fare and services, telecommunication services, license plates, and rice supply and pricing. He also initiated increased budget support for State Universities and Colleges (SUCs), free college tuition, free wifi in public places, hiring of rural doctors and nurses, upgrading of regional hospitals, Centenarian and senior citizen benefits, DSWD feeding program, OFW Repatriation, PNP Modernization, DOLE livelihood and emergency employment programs, among others.
𝗜𝗻𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗮𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲𝘀 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗖𝗢𝗩𝗜𝗗-𝟭𝟵 𝗥𝗲𝘀𝗽𝗼𝗻𝘀𝗲
In the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, then Senator Recto filed bills that were consolidated in Bayanihan I and II laws. The Senator initiated budget priorities that were necessary not only to stem the spread of the virus but also to speed up the economic recovery. These support for health programs included funding for testing, isolation and quarantine, contact tracing, treatment, and for the purchase and logistics of COVID-19 vaccines. Budget allocation was also provided for social amelioration programs to alleviate the plight of those who were without income in view of the lockdowns. Recto has also supported initiatives intended to soften the impact of the economic downturn. These include the funding of wholesale banking and equity infusion for government banks and financial institutions in order to finance industries affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. These benefited MSMEs, cooperatives, hospitals, tourism and OFWs, among others. Business was also assisted through a combination of increasing available loanable funds, reducing documentary requirements, increasing maximum loan amounts per borrower, reducing interest rates, extending loan terms, utilization of financial technologies, and financing operating expenses to ensure that they continue operating their businesses during the pandemic. The critically impacted sector also received help through provisions of the Bayanihan II that granted regulatory relief and waiver from licenses, permits, clearances and other requisite documents for projects of national significance; exemptions from import duties, tax, and fees; grace period for loan payment and term extension; and preference in government procurement to locally manufactured essential goods needed for COVID-19 mitigation, among others.
𝗣𝗿𝗲𝗳𝗲𝗿𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗺𝗼𝗻 𝘁𝗮𝗼
Recto has made a mark in his zealous involvement in the crafting of meaningful legislations as well as introducing policies that affect the common tao. A deep sense of equity and fairness define his balanced handling and scrutiny of measures and issues. In all cases, he assigns great value on the people’s needs. With inclusive growth, it is expected that the poor will share the responsibility and fruits of development.
𝗔𝘀 𝗦𝗲𝗰𝗿𝗲𝘁𝗮𝗿𝘆 𝗼𝗳 𝗙𝗶𝗻𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲
As Secretary of Finance, Ralph G. Recto brought to the Department of Finance not only his deep expertise in economics and governance, but also his political acumen, which allowed him to communicate clearly complex and critically needed fiscal policies to both Congress and the public. He built his efforts upon the President’s vision as articulated in the Philippine Development Plan, pursuing practical and innovative ways of achieving inclusive growth to ensure that economic growth translates to the everyday lives of the Filipino people. During his tenure, Recto pushed revenue agencies to modernize and strengthen tax administration, especially through digitalization in the Bureau of Internal Revenue and the Bureau of Customs, in order to sustain improvements in revenue collection and provide more funds for social services and infrastructure without additional tax burden to the people. Under his watch, total revenues reached ₱4.4 trillion in 2024, exceeding the set target, while the revenue effort rose to 16.72 percent of GDP, the highest level in 27 years. He maximized non-tax revenues to record levels, with collections in 2024 reaching around ₱606.6 billion. This is the highest non-tax revenues collected ever, tripling the official target, thereby generating additional resources to fund priority programs in health, education, social protection, and infrastructure without imposing new taxes. Drawing on his decades of experience in the legislature, he successfully shepherded long-pending fiscal reforms into law that strengthened the country’s revenue base, deepened capital markets, and enhanced the competitiveness of Philippine enterprises. These included measures to level the playing field between local and international digital service providers, the Capital Markets Efficiency Promotion Act (CMEPA), Mining Fiscal Regime, and the CREATE More Law.
