By Junex Doronio
MANILA — “It ain’t over till the fat lady sings”, so it seems for Finance Secretary Benjamin E. Diokno who said on Thursday that he serves at the pleasure of President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. amid rumors that Batangas 6th District Congressman Ralph Recto is set to replace him.
“I serve at the pleasure of the president. I will work until, as long as I’m needed in the government,” Diokno quipped when asked if he is about to retire from government service.
Diokno previously served as Secretary of Budget and Management under the administration of President Rodrigo Roa Duterte from 2016 to 2019, and under President Joseph “Erap” Estrada from 1998 until the latter’s ouster in 2001.
He also served as the governor of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) and ex officio chairman of the Anti-Money Laundering Council from 2019 to 2022 under Duterte.
For investment banker Stephen Cuunjieng, he believes that Recto has what it takes to be a successful Finance Secretary.
“Do I think he could be a very effective Finance Secretary? Yes, he has the ingredients to do it,” Cuunjieng declared when interviewed by ANC.
Cuunjieng said the former senator who now represents the 6th district of Batangas “is qualified and he would fit the model of a successful politician-finance secretary.
The investment banker stressed that a good finance minister needs to understand that government financial issues are not simply limited to finance.
He added that the finance chief must also appreciate that there are social and political ramifications to financial and economic policies.
(AI/MNM)
