Secretary of Finance (Philippines) explained

The secretary of finance (fil|kalihim ng pananalapi) is the cabinet of the Philippines member in charge of the Department of Finance.

The current secretary is Ralph Recto, who was appointed to office on January 12, 2024.

Powers and functions

According to the Administrative Code of 1987, the following are the powers and functions of a secretary:^[1]

• Advise the president in issuing executive orders, regulations, proclamations and other issuances, the promulgation of which is expressly vested by law in the president relative to matters under the jurisdiction of the department;
• Establish the policies and standards for the operation of the department pursuant to the approved programs of government;
• Promulgate rules and regulations necessary to carry out department objectives, policies, functions, plans, programs and projects;
• Promulgate administrative issuances necessary for the efficient administration of the offices under the secretary and for proper execution of the laws relative thereto;
• Exercise disciplinary powers over officers and employees under the secretary in accordance with law, including their investigation and the designation of a committee or officer to conduct such investigation;
• Appoint all officers and employees of the department except those whose appointments are vested in the president or in some other appointing authority;
• Exercise jurisdiction over all bureaus, offices, agencies and corporations under the department;
• Delegate authority to officers and employees under the secretary’s direction;
• Perform such other functions as may be provided by law.

List of secretaries of finance

1897–1899

No.	Portrait	Secretary	Took office	Left office	President
Director of Finance
1		Baldomero Aguinaldo (1869–1915)	April 1897	November 1897	Emilio Aguinaldo
Secretary of Finance
2		Mariano Trías (1868–1914)	July 15, 1898	May 9, 1899	Emilio Aguinaldo
3		Hugo Ilagan	May 9, 1899	November 13, 1899

1901–1935

No.	Portrait	Secretary	Took office	Left office	Governor-General
Secretary of Finance and Justice
4		Henry Clay Ide (1844–1921) [2]	September 1, 1901	June 30, 1908	William Howard Taft
					Luke Edward Wright
					Henry Clay Ide
					James Francis Smith
5		Gregorio S. Araneta (1869–1930) [3]	July 1, 1908	October 30, 1913
					William Cameron Forbes
					Newton W. Gilbert
					Francis Burton Harrison
6		Victorino Mapa (1855–1927) [4]	October 30, 1913	January 1, 1917
Secretary of Finance[5]
(6)		Victorino Mapa (1855–1927)	January 1, 1917	January 15, 1917	Francis Burton Harrison
7		Alberto Barretto [6]	January 15, 1917	July 17, 1928
					Charles Yeater
					Leonard Wood
					Eugene Allen Gilmore
					Henry L. Stimson
–		Miguel Unson [7]	July 17, 1928	August 14, 1928
8			August 14, 1928	December 13, 1931
					Eugene Allen Gilmore
					Dwight F. Davis
–		Vicente Carmona [8]	January 1, 1932	December 31, 1932
					George C. Butte
					Theodore Roosevelt Jr.
9		Rafael Alunan	January 1, 1933	April 30, 1933
–		Vicente Singson Encarnacion (1875–1961) [9]	April 30, 1933	July 24, 1934
					Frank Murphy
10		Elpidio Quirino (1890–1956)	July 25, 1934	November 15, 1935

1935–present

No.	Portrait	Secretary	Took office	Left office	President
Secretary of Finance
(10)		Elpidio Quirino (1890–1956)	November 15, 1935	February 18, 1936	Manuel L. Quezon
11		Antonio de las Alas (1889–1983)	February 19, 1936	November 15, 1938
12		Manuel Roxas (1892–1948)	November 26, 1938	August 28, 1941
13		Serafin Marabut	August 28, 1941	December 24, 1941
Secretary of Finance, Agriculture and Commerce[10]
14		José Abad Santos (1886–1942) [11]	December 24, 1941	March 26, 1942	Manuel L. Quezon
15		Andrés Soriano (1898–1964)	March 26, 1942	July 31, 1944
Commissioner of Finance
16		Antonio de las Alas (1889–1983) [12]	January 26, 1942	October 14, 1943	Jorge B. Vargas
Minister of Finance
(16)		Antonio de las Alas (1889–1983) [13]	October 19, 1943	1945	Jose P. Laurel
Secretary of Finance[14]
17		Jaime Hernandez	August 8, 1944	May 27, 1946	Sergio Osmeña
(10)		Elpidio Quirino (1890–1956)	May 28, 1946	November 24, 1946	Manuel Roxas
18		Miguel Cuaderno Sr. (1890–1975)	November 25, 1946	January 2, 1949
					Elpidio Quirino
(17)		Jaime Hernandez	January 1949	January 1952
19		Aurelio Montinola Sr.	January 1952	December 1953
(17)		Jaime Hernandez	December 1953	January 1960	Ramon Magsaysay
					Carlos P. Garcia
20		Dominador Aytona (1918–2017)	January 25, 1960	December 29, 1961
21		Fernando Sison	January 2, 1962	July 31, 1962	Diosdado Macapagal
22		Rodrigo Perez	August 1, 1962	January 7, 1964
23		Rufino Hechanova	January 8, 1964	December 13, 1965
24		Eduardo Romualdez (1909–2001)	January 1, 1966	February 4, 1970	Ferdinand Marcos
25		Cesar Virata (born 1930)	February 9, 1970	June 2, 1978
Minister of Finance[15]
(25)		Cesar Virata (born 1930)	June 2, 1978	March 3, 1986	Ferdinand Marcos
26		Jaime Ongpin (1939–1987)	March 26, 1986	February 11, 1987	Corazon Aquino
Secretary of Finance[16]
(26)		Jaime Ongpin (1939–1987)	February 11, 1987	September 14, 1987	Corazon Aquino
27		Vicente Jayme	September 15, 1987	December 1989
28		Jesus Estanislao	January 1, 1990	June 30, 1992
29		Ramon del Rosario	July 1, 1992	June 1, 1993	Fidel V. Ramos
30		Ernest Leung	June 2, 1993	January 31, 1994
31		Roberto de Ocampo	February 1, 1994	March 30, 1998
32		Salvador Enriquez	April 1, 1998	June 30, 1998
33		Edgardo Espiritu	July 1, 1998	December 31, 1998	Joseph Estrada
34		Jose Pardo	January 2, 2000	January 20, 2001
35		Alberto Romulo (born 1933)	January 23, 2001	June 30, 2001	Gloria Macapagal Arroyo
36		Jose Isidro Camacho (born 1955)	June 30, 2001	November 30, 2003
37		Juanita Amatong (born 1935)	December 1, 2003	February 14, 2005
38		Cesar Purisima (born 1960)	February 15, 2005	July 15, 2005
39		Margarito Teves (born 1943)	July 22, 2005	June 30, 2010
(38)		Cesar Purisima (born 1960) [17]	June 30, 2010	June 30, 2016	Benigno Aquino III
40		Carlos Dominguez III (born 1945) [18]	June 30, 2016	June 30, 2022	Rodrigo Duterte
41		Benjamin Diokno (born 1948)	June 30, 2022	January 12, 2024	Bongbong Marcos
42		Ralph Recto (born 1964)	January 12, 2024	Incumbent

Notes

1. Web site: Executive Order No. 292 [BOOK IV/Chapter 2-Secretaries, Undersecretaries, and Assistant Secretaries] ]. Official Gazette of the Republic of the Philippines.
2. Book: Public Laws and Resolutions Passed by the United States Philippine Commission . Government Printing Office . 1901 . Washington . 737.
3. Book: Journal of the Philippine Commission Being the Second Session of the First Philippine Legislature . Bureau of Printing . 1910 . Manila . 137-138.
4. Book: Journal of the Philippine Commission Being the Second Session, October 16, 1913, to February 3, 1914, and A Special Session, February 6, 1914, to February 28, 1914, of the Third Philippine Legislature . Bureau of Printing . 1914 . Manila . 25.
5. Web site: Act No. 2666. - AN ACT TO REORGANIZE THE EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENTS OF THE GOVERNMENT OF THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS. . Supreme Court E-Library.
6. Book: Annual Report of the Governor General Philippine Islands, 1923 . Government Printing Office . 1925 . Washington . 123.
7. Book: Official Roster of Officers and Employees in the Civil Service of the Philippine Islands, December 31, 1928 . Bureau of Printing . 1928 . Manila . 59.
8. Book: Official Register of the United States, 1932 . Government Printing Office . 1932 . Washington . 42.
9. Book: Official Register of the United States, 1934 . Government Printing Office . 1935 . Washington . 41.
10. Web site: Executive Order No. 396, s. 1941 . Official Gazette of the Republic of the Philippines.
11. Book: The Sixth Annual Report of the United States High Commissioner to the Philippine Islands to the President and Congress of the United States Covering the Fiscal Year July 1, 1941 to June 30, 1942 . Government Printing Office . 1943 . Washington . 79.
12. Book: Official Gazette Vol. 1, No. 1 . Bureau of Printing . 1942 . Manila . 15.
13. Book: Official Gazette Vol. 1, No. 1 . Bureau of Printing . 1943 . Manila . 29.
14. Web site: Executive Order No. 15-W, s. 1944 . Official Gazette of the Republic of the Philippines.
15. Web site: Presidential Decree No. 1397, s. 1978 . Official Gazette of the Republic of the Philippines.
16. Web site: Administrative Order No. 15, s. 1987 . Official Gazette of the Republic of the Philippines.
17. Web site: Benigno S. Aquino III . https://web.archive.org/web/20160706080719/http://malacanang.gov.ph/presidents/fifth-republic/benigno-aquino-iii/#efs-tabpane-1-1 . July 6, 2016 . June 25, 2022 . Presidential Museum and Library.
18. News: Viray . Patricia Lourdes . June 30, 2016 . Duterte's Cabinet takes oath, holds first meeting . https://web.archive.org/web/20160701152211/https://www.philstar.com/headlines/2016/06/30/1598175/dutertes-cabinet-takes-oath-holds-first-meeting . July 1, 2016 . The Philippine Star.

References

1. Web site: Executive Order No. 292 [BOOK IV/Chapter 2-Secretaries, Undersecretaries, and Assistant Secretaries] ]. Official Gazette of the Republic of the Philippines.
2. Book: Public Laws and Resolutions Passed by the United States Philippine Commission . Government Printing Office . 1901 . Washington . 737.
3. Book: Journal of the Philippine Commission Being the Second Session of the First Philippine Legislature . Bureau of Printing . 1910 . Manila . 137-138.
4. Book: Journal of the Philippine Commission Being the Second Session, October 16, 1913, to February 3, 1914, and A Special Session, February 6, 1914, to February 28, 1914, of the Third Philippine Legislature . Bureau of Printing . 1914 . Manila . 25.
5. Web site: Act No. 2666. - AN ACT TO REORGANIZE THE EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENTS OF THE GOVERNMENT OF THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS. . Supreme Court E-Library.
6. Book: Annual Report of the Governor General Philippine Islands, 1923 . Government Printing Office . 1925 . Washington . 123.
7. Book: Official Roster of Officers and Employees in the Civil Service of the Philippine Islands, December 31, 1928 . Bureau of Printing . 1928 . Manila . 59.
8. Book: Official Register of the United States, 1932 . Government Printing Office . 1932 . Washington . 42.
9. Book: Official Register of the United States, 1934 . Government Printing Office . 1935 . Washington . 41.
10. Web site: Executive Order No. 396, s. 1941 . Official Gazette of the Republic of the Philippines.
11. Book: The Sixth Annual Report of the United States High Commissioner to the Philippine Islands to the President and Congress of the United States Covering the Fiscal Year July 1, 1941 to June 30, 1942 . Government Printing Office . 1943 . Washington . 79.
12. Book: Official Gazette Vol. 1, No. 1 . Bureau of Printing . 1942 . Manila . 15.
13. Book: Official Gazette Vol. 1, No. 1 . Bureau of Printing . 1943 . Manila . 29.
14. Web site: Executive Order No. 15-W, s. 1944 . Official Gazette of the Republic of the Philippines.
15. Web site: Presidential Decree No. 1397, s. 1978 . Official Gazette of the Republic of the Philippines.
16. Web site: Administrative Order No. 15, s. 1987 . Official Gazette of the Republic of the Philippines.
17. Web site: Benigno S. Aquino III . https://web.archive.org/web/20160706080719/http://malacanang.gov.ph/presidents/fifth-republic/benigno-aquino-iii/#efs-tabpane-1-1 . July 6, 2016 . June 25, 2022 . Presidential Museum and Library.
18. News: Viray . Patricia Lourdes . June 30, 2016 . Duterte's Cabinet takes oath, holds first meeting . https://web.archive.org/web/20160701152211/https://www.philstar.com/headlines/2016/06/30/1598175/dutertes-cabinet-takes-oath-holds-first-meeting . July 1, 2016 . The Philippine Star.

External links

• DOF website